
fftm 


GRIMMS 


PART ONE 


















































































Class __ FZ % 

Book_ .Cx 'i y ?. 

P 

Gopyiight N°_k£i_ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 


















Fairy Tales 


Edited by 

Sara E.Wiltse 

dutAor of 

Stories for Dtindergcirtens"8tc. 


Illustrated by 
Blanche Fisher Laite 


Ginn and Company 

Boston -“NewYork - Chicago - London 
Atlanta - Dallas - Columbus — San Francisco 


Orimm s 










































COPYRIGHT, 1894, 1923, BY GINN AND COMPANY 


ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
423.8 



UTIjc SStbenaeum Dress 

GINN AND COMPANY • PRO- 


OCT 15 *23 







PREFACE 


^ NOR this new edition of Grimm’s Fairy 

H Tales we have endeavored to select from 

* the classic folk tales collected by the 
Grimm brothers those which are most suit¬ 
able for children. To the stories contained in 
Part I of our former work have been added 
others, all of which are presented in simple 
narrative form with beautiful illustrations by 
Blanche Fisher Laite. 

Tales showing kindness to animals and illus¬ 
trating the unity of life under various condi¬ 
tions, those foreshadowing steam and electric 
power, and dramas of conscience, duty, and 
will have been included; while those containing 
such features as cruel stepmothers, unnatural 
fathers, and magic interposition in favor of 
idlers and tricksters have been omitted. In 
short this volume is designed to delight and 
instruct the young reader and to be representa¬ 
tive of the spirit of the Grimm brothers, who 
made immortal the folk tales they loved. 




SARA E. WILTSE 





























CONTENTS 


PAGE 

The Queen Bee. 3 

Rumpelstiltsken. 8 

The Frog Prince.19 

The Faithful Beasts.30 

The Bear and the Skrattel.41 

The Three Crows.61 

Star Dollars.72 

The Gold Children.76 

The White Snake.90 

The Musicians of Bremen.101 

Briar Rose.113 

The House in the Wood.123 

Thumbling, the Dwarf who became a Giant 138 

The Iron Stove.155 

Snow-White and Rose-Red.171 

The Two Brothers.189 

The Old Man and his Grandson . . . .241 

The Six Swans.245 


[V] 


















GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 


PART I 






















































<StS 



THE QUEEN BEE 


O NCE upon a time two sons of a 
) king set out to see the world 
and fell into such a wild kind 
of life that they did not return home. 
So their youngest brother, Dummling, 
went to seek them, but when he found 
them they mocked him because of his 
simple manners. However, they took 
him with them. 

After a time they came to an ant hill. 
This the two older brothers would have 
torn in pieces, to see the little ants run 
away with their eggs, but Dummling 
said, "Let the little creatures live in 
peace; I will not let you hurt them.” 

[3l 



GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

Then they went along until they came 
to a lake, on which ducks were swim¬ 
ming in great numbers. The two brothers 
wanted to catch a pair and roast them, 
but Dummling would not allow it, say¬ 
ing, "Let these fowls alone; I will not 
let you kill them! ” 

At last they came to a nest of wild 
bees, in which was so much honey that 
it was running out at the mouth of the 
nest. The two brothers would have killed 
the bees and spoiled the nest for the 
sake of their honey, but Dummling again 
held them back, saying, "Leave the bees 
alone; I will not let you hurt them! ” 
After this the three brothers came to 
a castle, in the stable of which stood a 
number of stone horses, but no man was 
to be seen. They went through all the 
rooms of the castle until they came to 
a door on which hung three locks, and 
[4] 


THE QUEEN BEE 

in the middle of the door was a hole 
through which one could see into a room. 
Peeping through this hole, they saw a 
fierce-looking man sitting at a table. 
They called him once, twice, but he did 
not hear; the third time they called he 
got up, opened the door, and came out. 
Not a word did he speak, but led them 
to a well-set table, and when they had 
eaten he took each of them into a 
sleeping-room. 

The next morning the man went to 
the oldest brother and led him to a 
stone table on which three sentences were 
written. 

The first was that under the moss in 
the wood lay the pearls of a king’s 
daughter, a thousand in number. These 
must be sought; and if at sunset even 
one was wanting, he who had looked for 
them would be changed into stone. 

[5] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

The eldest brother went off and hunted 
the whole day, but he found only a 
hundred. So it happened to him as the 
table had said—he was changed into 
stone. The next day the second brother 
went, but he did no better than the other, 
for he found but two hundred pearls, 
and he was turned into stone. Then 
came Dummling’s turn. He searched in 
the moss, but the pearls were so hard to 
find that he sat down upon a stone and 
wept. While he was weeping, the ant 
king, whose life he had once saved, 
came to him with five thousand ants,, 
and before very long they found and 
piled in a heap the whole thousand 
pearls. 

The second sentence was to fetch the 
key of the princess’s sleeping-room out 
of a lake which the brothers had passed. 
When Dummling returned to the lake, 
[ 6 ] 


THE QUEEN BEE 

the ducks whose lives he had saved swam 
toward him, and diving below the water, 
quickly brought up the key. 

The third sentence, however, was the 
hardest of all. Of the three daughters 
of the king he must pick out the young¬ 
est and prettiest. They were all asleep 
and looked alike, without a single mark 
by which to tell them apart, except that 
before they fell asleep they had eaten 
three kinds of sweets—the eldest a piece 
of sugar, the second a little sirup, and 
the youngest a spoonful of honey. But 
in came the queen of all the bees that 
Dummling had saved. 

She instantly settled on the mouth 
which had eaten the honey, and thus the 
king’s son knew the right princess. The 
spell was broken; everyone awoke; and 
Dummling was given a kingdom as his 
reward. 


[7] 




RUMPELSTILTSKEN 


B l THE side of a wood in a far¬ 
away country ran a stream of 
water beside which there stood a 
mill. The miller’s house was built on 
the bank of the stream. 

Now the miller had a beautiful daugh¬ 
ter who was not only beautiful but very 
sensible. The miller was so proud of 
her that one day he told the king, who 
sometimes hunted in the wood, that his 
daughter was so clever that she could spin 
gold out of straw, or silver out of hemp. 
[ 8 ] 























RUMPELSTILTSKEN 


It so happened that this kin 
for d of money, and when h< 
miller’s boast his greed w < 
that he sent for 'he girl t 
before him. 

Whe 
room ir 
heap ( 
wheel 
ing e* 
into 
wo 

b 

I 

c 


c 

y 


i 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

'traw to bewail her hard fete, 
en the door opened and in 
looking little man who said: 
w to YC' A my lass. Why 


naiden, 
w into 


RUMPELSTILTSKEN 

And round about the wheel went merrily. 
The work was quickly done, and the 
coarse straw was changed into a heap of 
spun gold. 

When the king saw this he was greatly 
pleased, but his heart grew still more 
greedy of pelf, and he set the poor 
miller’s daughter to a fresh task. 

She knew not what to do and again 
sat down to weep. Again the dwarf 
opened the door and said, "What will 
you give me to do your task?” 

"The ring on my finger,” the girl 
gladly answered. 

So the dwarf took the ring and again 
began work, whistling and singing as 
the wheel turned: 

"Round about, round about, 

Lo and behold! 

Spin away, spin away, 

Straw into gold!” 

r [”] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

Long before morning all was done, 
every straw having been changed into a 
glittering thread of gold. The king was 
greatly delighted to see all this glistening 
treasure, but still he had not enough to 
satisfy his greed, so he took the miller’s 
daughter to a yet larger heap of straw 
and said: "All this must be spun into 
gold this very night. If you do it you 
shall be my queen.” 

As soon as the maiden was alone the 
dwarf came in and asked, "What will 
you give me to spin gold for you this 
third time?” 

The maiden hung her head and tears 
sprang to her eyes as she answered: 
"You have my necklace and my ring. 
I have nothing more to give.” 

"Then say you will give me the first 
child that you may have when you are 
queen.” 

1121 


RUMPELSTILTSKEN 


"I shall never be queen,” thought the 
unhappy maiden," and I may as well save 
my life with such an empty promise.” 

Round went the wheel again to the old 
song, and before morning another heap 
of straw was turned into a heap of gold. 

When the king saw this he was bound 
to keep his word, so he married the 
miller’s daughter without delay. 

At the birth of her first child the queen 
was very happy and for a time forgot 
her promise to the dwarf. But one day 
he came into the room where she was 
playing with her baby and reminded 
her of it. 

She wept bitterly and told the mani¬ 
kin she would give him all the money 
and jewels she had if he would release 
her from her promise. 

All her pleadings seemed in vain until 
she pressed the child to her heart and 
[13] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

begged the dwarf to take her life but to 
spare the king’s son. 

This appeal softened his heart and he 
said: "I will give you three days’ grace, 
and if by the end of that time you can 
tell me my name, you may keep the 
child.” 

Now the queen lay awake the whole 
night, thinking of all the odd names that 
she had ever heard. She even sent mes¬ 
sengers throughout the land to find new 
ones. The next day when the little man 
came, she asked him if he answered to 
the name of Ichabod, Elzevir, Esarhad- 
don, or Elsheimer, and all the names she 
could remember, but to each of them he 
made the same reply, "Madam, that is 
not my name.” 

The second day the queen tried all the 
comical names she could think of: Beans, 
Bandylegs, Crookshanks, Fathead, but 
[14] 













































































































GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 


to every one of them the manikin an¬ 
swered, "Madam, that is not my name.” 

The third day a messenger came to 
say: "Gracious queen, I traveled two 
days without hearing one new name, but 
yesterday as I was climbing a steep hill, 
there, among the trees of the forest, I 
heard the fox and the hare bid each other 
good night. Then I saw a little hut be¬ 
fore which burned a fire, and round 
about the fire a funny little dwarf was 
dancing upon one leg. As he danced 
he sang: 

"'Merrily the feast I’ll make, 

Today I’ll brew, tomorrow bake; 

Merrily I’ll dance and sing, 

The third day will a stranger bring. 

For little dreams the royal dame 
That Rumpelstiltsken is my name! 

When the queen heard this she 
clapped her hands for joy and, taking 

[r6] 


RUMPELSTILTSKEN 


the baby in her arms, danced about the 
palace as if she were herself the very 
queen of fairies. 

But when the dwarf came she sat upon 
her throne and called all her courtiers 
about her to enjoy the fun. The nurse 
stood by her side with the baby in her 
arms as if quite ready to give him up. 
The dwarf could not conceal his satis¬ 
faction, and chuckled as he thought of 
having the child with him in his hut 
in the woods. So he airily demanded, 
"Now, lady, what is my name?” 

"Is it Elzevir?” the queen asked. 

"No, madam,” he answered. 

"Is it Esarhaddon?” 

"It is not Esarhaddon, your Majesty.” 

"Is it Elsheimer?” 

"It is not Elsheimer, your ladyship.” 

"Can your name be Rumpelstilts- 
ken?” asked the lady, slyly. 

[17] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

"Some witch told you that! some 
witch told you that! ” the little man said 
in his rage, and he dashed his right foot 
so deep into the floor that he was forced 
to lay hold of it with both hands to pull 
it out. Then he made his way off as 
best he could, while the nurse laughed, 
the baby crowed, and the court jeered 
at him, saying, as he hobbled off, "We 
wish you a very good morning and a 
merry feast, but our baby prince will 
stay with us, Mr. Rumpelstiltsken! ” 


[18] 



THE FROG PRINCE 

TTN THE olden time, when wishing 
was having, there lived a king whose 
IL daughters were all beautiful, but the 
youngest was so very beautiful that the 
Sun himself, although he saw her very 
often, was pleased every time he looked 
at her. 

Near the castle of this king was a 
large and gloomy forest in the midst of 
which stood an old lime tree, beneath 
whose branches splashed a little foun¬ 
tain. When the day was very hot the 
king’s youngest daughter would run into 
this wood and sit down by the fountain^ 
[19] 





GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

and when she felt dull she would often 
play with a golden ball, throwing it up 
in the air and catching it as it fell. 

One day when the king’s daughter 
threw this golden ball into the air, it fell 
on the grass and rolled past her into the 
fountain. She followed the ball with 
her eyes as it sank into the water, which 
was so deep that no one could see to the 
bottom. Then she began to cry; and 
as she cried, a voice called out: "Why 
weepest thou, O king’s daughter? Thy 
tears would melt even a stone to pity.” 

The king’s daughter looked around to 
see whence the voice came, and there 
was a frog stretching his head out of the 
water. 

"Ah! you old water-paddler,” said 
she, "was it you that spoke? I am 
weeping for my golden ball, which has 
dipped away from me into the water.” 

[ 20 ] 


THE FROG PRINCE 

"Be quiet and do not cry,” said the 
frog; "perhaps I can help thee. But 
what wilt thou give me if I fetch thee 
thy ball?” 

"What will you have, dear frog? ” said 
the king’s daughter. "My dresses, my 
rings and pearls, or the golden crown 
which I wear?” 

The frog answered, "Dresses or rings 
or golden crowns are not for me; but if 
thou wilt love me and let me be thy 
playmate and sit at thy table and eat 
from thy little golden plate and drink 
out of thy cup and sleep in thy little 
bed,—if thou wilt promise me all these, 
then will I dive down and get thy golden 
ball.” 

"Oh, I will promise you all those,” 
said the king’s daughter, "if you will 
only get me my ball.” But she thought 
to herself: "What a silly frog! Let him 
[21 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

remain in the water with his equals; he 
cannot play with me.” 

As soon as he had her promise, the 
frog drew his head under the water 
and dived down. Soon he swam up 
again with the ball in his mouth and 
threw it on the grass. 

The king’s daughter was full of joy 
when she again saw her beautiful play¬ 
thing, and picking it up she ran off. 

"Stop! stop!” cried the frog; "take 
me with thee. I cannot run as thou 
canst.” 

But all his croaking was useless. Al¬ 
though it was loud enough, the king’s 
daughter did not heed it, but ran home 
and soon forgot the poor frog, who was 
obliged to leap back into the fountain. 

The next day, when the king’s daugh¬ 
ter was sitting at table with her father, 
eating from her own little golden plate, 
[ 22 1 



1 

































































































GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

something was heard coming up the mar¬ 
ble stairs, splish splash, splish splash! 
When it came to the top it knocked at 
the door, and a voice said, "Open the 
door, thou youngest daughter of the 
king! ” 

The maiden rose and went to see who 
it was that called her. When she caught 
sight of the frog she shut the door again 
and sat down at the table, looking very 
pale. The king saw that she was in fear 
of something, and asked her if a giant 
had come to take her away. 

"Oh, no!” answered she; "it is not 
a giant, but an ugly frog.” 

"What does the frog want of you?” 
said the king. 

"Oh, dear father, when I was playing 
by the fountain my golden ball fell into 
the water, and this frog fetched it up 
again because I cried so much. I must 
[24] 


THE FROG PRINCE 


tell you that I promised him he should 
be my playmate. I never thought that 
he could come out of the water, but 
somehow he has jumped out, and now 
he wants to come in here.” 

At that moment there was another 
knock, and a voice said: 

"King’s daughter, youngest, 

Open the door. 

Hast thou forgotten 
Thy promises made 
At the fountain so clear 

’Neath the lime tree’s shade? 

King’s daughter, youngest, 

Open the door.” 

Then the king said, "What you have 
promised, that you must perform; go 
and let him in.” 

So the king’s daughter opened the 
door, and the frog hopped into the room 
right up to her chair. As soon as she 
[25] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

was seated, the frog said, "Take me up.” 
But she waited so long that at last the 
king ordered her to obey the frog. 

As soon as the frog was placed on the 
chair, he jumped upon the table and 
said, "Now push thy plate near me, that 
we may both eat from it.” And she did 
so, but, as everyone saw, with very bad 
grace. 

The frog seemed to relish his dinner, 
but every bit that the king’s daughter 
ate nearly choked her. 

At last the frog said, "I feel very 
tired; wilt thou carry me upstairs into 
thy chamber and make thy bed ready 
for me to sleep in it?” 

At this speech the king’s daughter 
began to cry, for she was afraid of the 
cold frog and dared not touch him; and, 
besides, he wanted to sleep in her own 
beautiful clean bed. But her tears made 
[26] 


THE FROG PRINCE 


the king very angry, and he said, "Never 
treat with scorn one who has helped you 
in time of trouble.” 

So she took the frog up with two 
fingers and put him in a corner of her 
room. But he hopped up to her and 
said, "I am so very tired that I shall 
sleep well; do let me rest on your pil¬ 
low.” But she threw him against the 
wall, saying, "Now, will you be quiet, 
you ugly frog! ” 

As he fell he was changed from a frog 
into a handsome prince with beautiful 
eyes, who after a little while became, 
with her father’s consent, her dearest 
friend and playmate. Then he told her 
how he had been changed to a frog by 
an evil witch, and that no one but her¬ 
self had the power to take him out of 
the fountain, and that now she should 
share his kingdom. 

, 1 2 7 3 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

So one day a carriage drawn by eigiYt 
white horses, with ostrich feathers on 
their heads and golden bridles, drove up 
to the door of the palace, and behind the 
carriage stood trusty Henry, the servant 
of the young prince. When his master 
was changed into a frog, trusty Henry 
had grieved so much that he had bound 
three iron bands round his heart, for fear 
it should break with grief and sorrow. 

When the carriage was ready to carry 
the young prince to his own country, the 
faithful Henry helped the princess and 
the prince into the carriage and placed 
himself in the seat behind, full of joy 
at his master’s release. 

They had not gone far when the 
prince heard a crack as if something had 
broken behind the carriage. 

He put his head out of the window 
and asked Henry what had broken, and 
[28] 


THE FROG PRINCE 


Henry answered, "It was not the car¬ 
riage, my master, but a band which I 
bound round my heart when it was in 
such grief because you were changed 
into a frog.” 

Twice afterwards on the journey there 
was the same noise, and each time the 
prince thought that it was some part of 
the carriage that had given way; but it 
was only the breaking of the bands 
which bound the heart of the trusty 
Henry, who was ever after free and 
happy. 


[29] 



THE FAITHFUL BEASTS 


in | nIHERE was once a man who had 
very little money, but with what he 
had he went into the wide world. 

Soon he came to a village where some 
boys were running together screaming 
and laughing, and he asked them what 
was the matter. 

"Oh! ” said they, "we have a mouse 
which we are going to teach to dance. 
What sport it will be! How it will skip 
around! ” 

The man pitied the poor mouse, and 
said, "Let it go, my boys, and I will give 
[30] 









THE FAITHFUL BEASTS 

you money.” He gave them some cop¬ 
pers, and they let the poor animal loose, 
and it ran as fast as it could into a hole 
close by. 

After this the man went on to another 
village, where some boys had a monkey 
which they forced to dance and tumble 
without letting the poor thing have any 
rest. To these also the man gave money 
to get them to set the monkey free. 

By and by, coming to a third village, 
the man saw the boys making a bear 
dance in chains and stand upright, and 
if he growled they seemed all the better 
pleased. The man also bought the bear 
and set him free. The bear, very glad 
to find himself on his four feet again, 
tramped away. 

The man had now spent all his money, 
and found he had not even a copper left 
in his pocket with which to buy a mor- 

[31] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

sel of food. At last he was nearly dead 
with hunger, and as no one would give 
him bread, he was tempted to steal. 
One of the king’s guards caught him 
and put him into a chest and threw the 
chest into the water. 

The lid of the chest was full of holes 
whereby he might obtain air, and a jug 
of water with a loaf of bread was put in. 

While he was floating about in great 
distress of mind, he heard something 
gnawing and scratching at the lock of 
his chest, and all at once it gave way 
and up flew the lid. Then he saw the 
mouse and the monkey and the bear 
standing by, and found it was they who 
had opened the chest because he had 
helped them, but they did not know 
what to do next. 

Just then a white, egg-shaped stone 
rolled into the water. 

[32] 


THE FAITHFUL BEASTS 

"This has come in the nick of time,” 
said the bear, "for it is a magic stone 
which will take its owner to whatever 
place he wishes to see.” 

The man picked up the stone, and as 
he held it in his hand he wished himself 
in a castle with a garden and stables. 
Scarcely had he done so when he found 
himself in a castle with a garden and 
stables just to his mind, where every¬ 
thing was so beautiful that he could not 
admire it enough. 

After a time some merchants came that 
way, and as they passed, one called to the 
other, "See what a noble castle stands 
here, where there was nothing but sand.” 

They entered the castle and asked 
the man how he had built the palace so 
quickly. 

"I did not do it,” said he, "it is the 
work of my wonderful stone.” 

[33 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

"What kind of a stone can it be?” 
inquired the merchants. 

The man showed it to them, and the 
sight of it pleased them so much that 
they asked if he would sell it, and offered 
him all their beautiful goods for it. 

The goods took the man’s fancy, and, 
his heart being fickle and wishing for 
new things, he thought them worth more 
than his stone, so he gave it to them, 
taking their goods in exchange. But 
scarcely had it left his hands when all 
his fortune was gone, and he found him¬ 
self again in the floating chest on the 
river, with nothing but the jug of water 
and the loaf of bread. 

The faithful beasts,—the mouse, the 
monkey, and the bear,—as soon as they 
saw this, came again to help him, but they 
could not unfasten the lock, because it 
was much stronger than the former one. 

[ 34 ] 






























































































GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

The bear said, "We must get the 
wonderful stone again, or our work is 
useless.” 

Now the merchants had stopped at the 
castle and lived there, so the three faith¬ 
ful animals went together to the castle. 

The bear said the mouse must peep 
through the keyhole and see what was 
going on, for, being so small, no one 
would notice him. The mouse soon 
came back, and said, "It is useless; I 
have peeped in, but the stone hangs on 
a red ribbon below the mirror, and above 
and below sit two great cats with fiery 
eyes to watch it.” 

The bear and the monkey said, "Never 
mind, go back again and wait till the 
master goes to bed and falls asleep; then 
do you slip in through the hole and creep 
on the bed, twitch his nose, and bite off 
one of his whiskers.” 

[ 36 ] 


THE FAITHFUL BEASTS 

So the mouse crept in and did exactly 
as she was told, and the master, waking 
up, rubbed his nose in a passion and 
said: " The old cats are good for nothing! 
They let in the mice, who bite the very 
hair off my head! ” And so saying, he 
drove all the cats away. 

The next night, as soon as the master 
was sound asleep, the mouse crept in 
again and nibbled and gnawed at the 
ribbon until it broke in halves, and down 
fell the stone, which she then pushed 
out under the door. But this was very 
hard for the poor little mouse to man¬ 
age, and so she called to the monkey, 
who drew it quite out with his long 
paws. It was an easy matter for him, 
and he carried the stone down to the 
water. 

There the monkey asked how they 
were to get at the chest. 

[ 37 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

"Oh,” replied the bear, "that is easy 
to do; you, monkey, shall sit upon my 
back, holding fast with your hands while 
you carry the stone in your mouth. 
You, mouse, can sit in my right ear and 
I will swim to the chest.” They all did 
as the bear said, and he swam off down 
the river. 

Soon he felt uneasy at the silence, and 
began to chatter to himself. At last he 
said: "Do you hear, Mr. Monkey? We 
are brave fellows.” But the monkey did 
not answer a word. 

"Is that manners?” said the bear, 
again. "Will you not give your com¬ 
rade an answer ? A crabbed fellow is he 
who makes no reply.” 

Then the monkey could no longer 
restrain himself, and letting the stone 
fall into the water he cried out: "You 
stupid fellow, how could I answer you 
[ 38 ] 


THE FAITHFUL BEASTS 

with the stone in my mouth? Now it 
is lost, and it is your own fault.” 

"Do not be angry,” said the bear; 
"we shall soon find it.” He called to all 
the frogs and other creatures living in 
the water, and said to them, "There is 
an enemy coming against you; but make 
haste and bring us some stones as 
quickly as you can, and we will build a 
wall to protect you.” 

These words frightened the water 
animals, and they brought stones from 
all sides. At last a fat old frog came 
waddling along with the wonderful stone 
in her mouth. The bear was glad to see 
it, and taking the stone he thanked them 
all and told them they might go home. 

Then the three beasts swam to the 
man in the chest, and, breaking the lid 
by the aid of stones, they found that 
they had come in the nick of time, for 
[ 39 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

he had drunk his last drop of water and 
eaten the last crumb of his bread, and 
was almost starved. 

As soon as the man took the magic 
stone in his hand he wished himself 
quite well and back in the castle with 
the garden and stables. No sooner had 
he wished than he was there, and his 
three faithful beasts with him. And 
there they all lived in great comfort to 
the end of their days. 


[ 40 ] 



THE BEAR AND THE SKRATTEL 


O NCE upon a time when the 
) king of Norway was holding a 
feast in his palace, he rose to 
drink to the health of the king of 
Denmark. 

"What present shall we send to our 
royal brother of Denmark as a pledge 
of our good will ? ” he asked. 

"Please, your Majesty,” answered 
Gunter, the king’s chief huntsman, 
"send him one of our white bears, that 
[41] 



GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

he may see what sort of kittens we play 
with here in Norway.” 

"Well said!” cried the king; "but 
how shall we find a bear that will travel 
so far and will know how to conduct 
himself in the presence of our worthy 
brother when he gets to that court?” 

"Please, your Majesty,” said Gunter, 
"I have a magnificent creature, as white 
as snow, one I caught when but a cub; 
a bear, now, that will follow me where- 
ever I go, play with children, stand on 
two legs, and behave as any well-bred 
person should. We are at your service 
and will go wherever you choose to 
send us.” 

The king was well pleased, and ordered 
Gunter to start with the dawn the next 
day. 

The Norseman went to his house in 
the wood, put the king’s collar around 
[42 ] 


THE BEAR AND THE SKRATTEL 

Bruin’s neck, and away they went over 
hills and valleys, across lakes and seas, 
until they reached the court of the king 
of Denmark. 

Unhappily when they arrived there 
the king was away on a journey, so 
Gunter and Bruin set out to follow and 
find him. The weather was bright, the 
sun shone, and the birds sang as they 
journeyed merrily on, day after day, over 
hill and dale, until they came within a 
day’s journey to the town where the 
Danish king was visiting. 

All that afternoon Gunter and Bruin 
walked in a gloomy forest which lay 
between them and the place they were 
seeking. Toward evening clouds gath¬ 
ered, the wind whistled through the 
trees, and a stormy night threatened 
them. The road was almost unbroken, 
and so rough that they stumbled over 
i [43] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

roots and fallen branches until they 
were too tired to travel further. 

"A pretty state of affairs, this,” said 
Gunter to himself. "I am likely to en¬ 
joy a night in the woods with an empty 
stomach, a damp bed, and only my good 
Bruin for company.” 

The wind blew louder and louder, the 
clouds grew darker and darker, the bear 
shook his ears disconsolately, and Gunter 
felt himself at his wit’s end, when he 
heard a joyful sound. A woodman came 
whistling along the road, which proved 
to be at the very edge of the forest, 
Gunter having missed it in the darkness. 

The woodman had a horse and a load 
of fagots, and you may be sure Gunter 
begged for a night’s lodging for himself 
and his companion. The woodman was 
good-natured and quite willing to give 
shelter to the huntsman, but as to the 
[44] 


THE BEAR AND THE SKRATTEL 

bear, he had never before seen such a 
beast and would not take Bruin along 
on any terms. 

Gunter begged hard for his friend, 
telling the man that he was taking the 
bear as a gift to the king of Denmark; 
that Bruin was very gentle, in fact, the 
best-natured, best-behaved animal in the 
world; but the woodman was obdurate. 
He said that his wife would not admit 
such a guest, and, besides, the dog and the 
cat would object; while the ducks and 
all the fowls would run away in terror 
if they but caught a glimpse of such a 
visitor. "So good night, Master Hunts¬ 
man ! ” said he; "if you and your shaggy 
companion will not part company, I’m 
afraid you’ll have to stay where you 
are.” Then he cracked his whip, started 
up his horse, and set off on his home¬ 
ward way. 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

The huntsman grumbled and Bruin 
growled as they followed slowly after 
the woodman. 

They had not gone far when the wood¬ 
man pulled up his horse and turned to 
speak to them. "Stay, stay!” said he, 
"I think I can tell you of a better sleep¬ 
ing place than under those logs. I know 
where you may find shelter if you will 
run the risk of some trouble with a 
ruffian imp that has taken up his abode 
in my old house yonder, down at the foot 
of the hill. I lived in that snug little 
house until last winter, when one night 
while a storm raged, as it is likely to do 
tonight, a spiteful guest took it into his 
head to pay us a visit. Ever since then 
there have been such noises, such clatter¬ 
ing and scampering upstairs and down, 
from midnight until dawn, that at last we 
were driven out of our own house and 
146] 


THE BEAR AND THE SKRATTEL 

home. What he is like no one knows, for 
we have never seen him or anything 
belonging to him except a little crooked 
high-heeled shoe that he left in the pantry 
one night. But though we have not seen 
him, we know he has a hand or a paw as 
heavy as lead, for when it pleases him to 
lay it upon anyone, down goes the un¬ 
fortunate person as if struck by a black¬ 
smith’s hammer. There is no end to his 
evil tricks. He cuts the line when the 
clothes are hung out to dry, he lets the 
fowls out of the henhouse, he turns 
the pig into the garden, rides the cows, 
and leads the horses into the hay-yard. 
Several times he nearly burned the house 
down by leaving a lighted candle among 
the fagots. Sometimes he is so nimble 
that nothing stands still around him. 
Dishes, plates, pots, and pans dance 
about, making horrible sounds as they 
[47] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 


break each other in pieces. When the 
whim takes him, the chairs and tables 
seem to be alive, dancing a hornpipe 
or playing battledore and shuttlecock 
together. It is no use to put things in 
order, for the imp turns everything up¬ 
side down whenever the fancy seizes him. 

"My wife and I bore it as long as we 
could, but at length we were beaten, and 
thought we would give the house up to 
him. The little rascal knew what we were 
about when we began moving, and seemed 
in a hurry for us to go. When our goods 
were on the wagon and we were ready to 
leave, we heard a shrill laugh; and a voice 
sounded from the window: 'Good-by, 
neighbors!’ Now he has the house to 
himself. If you and your friend care to 
run the risk of taking up your quarters 
in the elf’s house, pray do so. I hope he 
is not at home.” 


[48] 


THE BEAR AND THE SKRATTEL 

"Anything is better than sleeping out 
of doors such a night as this,” said Gun¬ 
ter. "Your troublesome neighbor may 
be of the same mind, and we may have to 
fight for our shelter, but Bruin is a good 
hand at boxing, and the goblin may find 
what it is to be hugged by a Norse bear.” 

Then the woodman gave Gunter a 
fagot to burn and wished him good 
night. 

The huntsman and the bear soon 
reached the deserted house, and find¬ 
ing no one at home, they went to the 
kitchen and made a blazing fire. 

"Lackaday! ” said the Norseman, "I 
ought to have asked that woodman for 
some supper. I have nothing but dry 
bread. However, this is better than 
sleeping in the woods. We must make 
the most of what we have, keep ourselves 
warm, and get to bed as soon as we can.” 

[49] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

So after eating their last crust and 
drinking some water from a well close 
by, the huntsman wrapped himself in his 
cloak and lay down in the snuggest corner 
he could find, while Bruin curled up 
on the hearth in front of the fireplace. 
They were soon fast asleep. 

Just as the clock struck twelve the 
noise of the storm grew louder, the wind 
blew the door open, and in popped an 
ugly little skrattel barely three spans 
high. His face was like a dried apple, 
his nose as purple as a ripe mulberry, 
and he had a squint eye that had lost 
its mate. He wore high-heeled shoes 
with long, pointed toes, and on his head 
was a tiny, pointed red cap. He dragged 
after him a fat kid, skinned ready for 
roasting. 

"A rough night this,” grumbled the 
goblin to himself, "but, thanks to that 
[ So] 

































































































































































































































GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

booby woodman, I’ve a house to myself. 
Now for a hot supper! ” 

He busied himself about, here and 
there. Presently the fire blazed up, and 
the kid was on the spit and turning 
merrily around, the odor of its cooking 
enough to make one’s mouth water. 
Then the little imp rubbed his hands, 
tossed his red cap in the air, and danced 
as he sang: 

"Oh, ’tis weary enough abroad to bide, 

In the shivery midnight blast; 

And ’tis dreary enough alone to ride, 
Hungry and cold, 

On the wintry wold, 

When the drifting snow falls fast. 

But ’tis cheery enough to revel by night, 
In the crackling fagots’ light; 

’Tis merry enough to have and to hold 
The savory roast 
And the nut-brown toast 
With jolly good ale and old.” 

[ 52 ] 


THE BEAR AND THE SKRATTEL 

The huntsman lay snug, sometimes 
quaking in fear and sometimes licking his 
lips at the tempting supper so near. He 
had half a mind to jump up and fight the 
imp. However,he kept quiet in his corner. 

All of a sudden the skrattel caught 
sight of Bruin as she lay asleep, rolled 
up like a ball in the chimney corner. He 
crept closer and closer to Bruin, unable 
to make out what she was: "One of the 
family, I suppose,” said he to himself. 

Just then Bruin gave her ears a shake 
and showed the tip of her muzzle. 

"Oho! ” said the imp, "that’s all, is it? 
But what a large one! Where can she 
have come from? And how came she 
here? What shall I do? Shall I let her 
alone, or shall I drive her out? I’m not 
afraid of mice or rats. So here goes! I’ve 
driven out the rest of the live stock. Why 
should I not send this brute after them? ” 
[53] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

With that the elf walked softly to the 
corner of the room, and taking up the 
spit tiptoed close to the bear and gave 
her a rattling thump across the nose. 

The bear rose up slowly, snorted, shook 
her head, scratched her ear, opened first 
one eye and then the other, took a turn 
across the room, and grinned at the 
enemy, who stood with gridiron in hand 
ready for the coming attack. The bear 
walked leisurely forward, and with one 
paw jerked the spit out of the goblin’s 
hand and sent it spinning across the 
room. 

Now began a fierce battle. This way 
and that flew tables,chairs, pots,and pans. 
One moment the elf was on Bruin’s back, 
pulling her ears and pommeling her with 
blows that might have felled an ox. In 
the next moment the bear would throw 
the skrattel into the air, and when he came 

[54] 


THE BEAR AND THE SKRATTEL 

down would catch and hug him until the 
little imp squealed like a pig. Meantime 
Gunter was terrified by the battle and 
crept as far into the corner as he could. 
The skrattel was losing strength every 
moment, and at last in a frenzy dashed 
his red cap right in Bruin’s eye and then 
darted out into the pitiless storm. 

"Well done! Bravo, Bruin! ” cried the 
huntsman, who hurried to shut and bolt 
the door. "Thou hast well combed his 
locks, and as for thine own ears, they are 
rather the worse for his spiteful pulling. 
But come, let us make the best of the 
good cheer our friend has left us! ” 
They fell to and ate a hearty supper 
and then betook themselves again to bed. 

In the morning the huntsman made 
ready to go on his way. Not far from 
the door he met the woodman, who was 
eager to learn how he had passed the 
[55] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

night. So Gunter told him. about the 
visit of the elf and how Bruin had fought 
and beaten him. "Let us hope,” said he, 
"you will now be forever rid of Master 
Skrattel; he will not be likely to return 
for another hug from Bruin. If so, your 
hospitality to us will be well repaid; 
although if your spiteful little tenant 
had not brought his supper with him, 
we should have gone to bed hungry.” 

Then the huntsman and Bruin went 
on their way. Let us hope that they 
found the king of Denmark without 
meeting another elf. To tell the truth 
I never heard that part of the story. 

The woodman, however, went to his 
work, and you may be sure he kept a 
sharp lookout for any visit from Skrattel, 
who might still prowl around at night. 

After three nights had passed without 
sight or sound of the mischief-maker. 

[56] 


THE BEAR AND THE SKRATTEL 

the woodman began to think of moving 
back to his own home. But on the fourth 
day, as he went to his work, a storm of 
sleet and snow drove him to the shelter 
of a wide-spreading spruce tree. As the 
storm passed over, he heard a cracked 
voice croaking in the bushes close by, and, 
sure enough, there was the very figure 
described by the huntsman. The goblin 
was without hat or cap on his head. His 
face was woebegone, his jacket was torn 
into shreds, his legs scratched and bleed¬ 
ing, as if he had crawled a mile through 
bramble bushes. The woodman sat very 
still and listened to this mournful song: 

"Oh, ’tis weary enough abroad to bide, 

In the shivery midnight blast; 

And ’tis dreary enough alone to ride, 
Hungry and cold, 

On the wintry wold, 

When the drifting snow falls fast.” 

[57] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

"Sing the other verse, man! ” shouted 
the woodman to his enemy. The instant 
he spoke, however, the little imp jumped 
and stamped with rage and was out of 
sight in a breath. 

The woodman finished his task and 
was going home, when all of a sudden he 
saw that same little skrattel standing on a 
high bank, looking grim and sulky as ever. 

"Hark ye, bumpkin,” cried the ill- 
tempered elf, "is thy great cat at home 
and alive?” 

"My cat?” said the woodman. "What 
do you mean?” 

"Thy great white cat, to be sure, the 
one whose ears I pulled off and whose 
eyes I put out,” boasted the skrattel. 

"Oh, yes, to be sure, my cat is alive 
and well, I thank you. She would be 
happy to see you or your friends when¬ 
ever you will favor us with a call. As 

t 5» ] 


THE BEAR AND THE SKRATTEL 


you seem so friendly toward my cat, you 
may be pleased to hear that Mrs. Bruin 
had five kittens last night.” 

"Five kittens?” muttered Skrattel. 

"Yes, five of the most beautiful white 
furry kittens you ever saw! It would 
do your heart good to see the whole 
family—such soft, gentle paws and deli¬ 
cate little mouths! Their mother is al¬ 
ready teaching them to box and scratch. 
Look in sometime about midnight. The 
old cat would be glad to show you her 
family, I’m sure.” 

"No indeed! ” shrieked the imp. "I 
do not want to see the kittens; I’ve seen 
enough of the mother cat.” 

"But do call around about midnight, 
as you have so often come at that hour,” 
urged the woodman. 

"Keep your cat and her kittens. I 
must be off; this is no place for me. 

1 [59] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

Good-by to you; you’ll see no more of 
me,” and the skrattel began to hop away. 
But the woodman hailed him once more, 
and throwing after him the red cap he 
had left behind as he fled from Bruin, 
taunted him: "Then good-by to you. 
Keep away from my cat and her kittens, 
and let us have no more of your pranks! ” 
Now that the woodman was sure his 
troublesome guest would never return 
he moved back to his home, where he 
and his wife and children lived happily 
ever afterwards, never forgetting the king 
of Norway, who sent the white bear to 
Denmark. 


[6o] 



THE THREE CROWS* 

IT ONG ago after many years of war, 
peace was at last made so that 
J —V the king no longer needed his 
armies, and he let the soldiers go home. 

One of these discharged men, whose 
name was Conrad, had saved most of his 
pay instead of spending it as fast as it 
was earned. 

Now two of Conrad’s fellow country¬ 
men were great rogues who plotted to rob 
him of his hard-earned money. Being 
artful knaves they made a pretense of 
great friendship for him, and one day 
[61] 







GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

they said: "Comrade, why should we 
stay in this town as if we were prisoners, 
when you, at least, have enough to live 
upon at home by your own fireside? 
Why should not the three of us go out 
into the world to try our luck?” 

Conrad agreed to make the venture 
by going first to a country not far 
distant. 

They had gone but a little way when, 
coming to a parting of the road, one of 
the knaves said, "We must go to the 
right, for that is the nearest way to a 
country where we shall be safe from 
robbers.” 

Conrad said: "No, that will lead us 
straight back to the town we have just 
left. We must keep to the left hand.” 

The rogues made this an excuse to 
pick a quarrel with Conrad, and one of 
them said angrily: "Why do you give 

[62] 


THE THREE CROWS 

yourself airs? You know nothing about 
these roads! ” 

Then they fell upon him and beat him 
on the head until he was quite dazed and 
blind, after which they bound him to a 
great beam of wood, took all his money, 
and left him there under a gallows tree, 
to die or live, they cared not which. 

When Conrad came to himself he did 
not know where he was, nor just what 
had happened to him. Night had come 
on, however, and he heard a fluttering 
over his head, which was caused by three 
crows flying round and round before 
perching in the tree. Having settled 
themselves for the night, directly over 
Conrad’s head, they began to talk. 

One of them said, "Sister, what is the 
best news with you today?” 

"Oh! if men did but know all that 
we know!” answered the crow. "The 
[63] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

princess is ill, and the king has vowed 
that she shall marry anyone who will 
cure her; but this no one can do, for she 
will surely die unless yonder blue flower 
is burned to ashes and given to her as a 
powder.” 

"Oh, indeed!” said the third crow; 
"if men did but know what we know! 
Tonight there will fall a dew from heaven 
which would restore sight to the blind 
if they but washed their eyes with it. 
The flower is wanted by but one only, 
and she a princess. The dew is needed 
by only a few, but there is a fearful 
drought in the land; the wells are dry 
and no rain has fallen for many weeks. 
If men only knew what we know! But 
alas! no man knows that if the large 
stone by the fountain in the market place 
should be removed, water would gush 
forth, clear, sparkling, and plentiful, 
[64 1 


THE THREE CROWS 


until the thirst of the very earth itself 
would be quenched.” 

"Oh! if men only knew what we 
know! ” whispered the three crows. 

While the crows were talking, Conrad 
lay very quiet lest he should lose a single 
word of all the wonderful things they 
were saying. When they flew away, the 
first thing he thought of doing was to get 
some dew to restore his sight. But it 
took all his strength to break the heavy 
cords with which the wicked men had 
bound him, and he feared the sun would 
dry the precious dew before he could 
reach it. Bound for so many hours, and 
bruised as he had been, it was no easy 
task for him to stumble around in his 
blindness, but he soon caught hold of a 
wisp of sweet, cool grass still wet with 
the priceless, healing dew and bathed his 
aching eyes. 


[6s] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 


O joy unspeakable! he could see! he 
could see! And looking about he found 
the blue flower, which he quickly burned. 
Gathering the ashes he hurried to the 
king’s court. Arrived at the palace, he 
told the king he had come to cure the 
princess and to claim the promised 
reward. 

The magic ashes quite cured the prin¬ 
cess of her illness, as the crows had said 
they would do, but when she saw Con¬ 
rad’s shabby clothes she had no mind to 
become his wife. 

The king, also, was sorry for his rash 
promise, and his behavior was as shabby 
as the soldier’s clothes. Shame upon 
any man, king or peasant, who would so 
try to break a promise! He thought to 
get rid of Conrad by giving him a yet 
harder task, so he said, "Whoever wants 
the princess for a wife must find water 
[ 66 ] 



*^plorvcKe. jisWerla 
















































































































































































































GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

enough to release the country from this 
direful drought.” 

The soldier went out of the palace and 
told the people to take the heavy stone 
from before the market-place fountain, 
and then by digging only a few inches they 
would find a spring with water enough 
for the whole town. 

Alas! the people, though nearly dying 
of thirst, scorned such simple means of 
relief and told the poor soldier to do it 
himself if it were so easy. 

Conrad, therefore, lifted the heavy 
stone, which really needed the strength 
of two or three men, and with his bleed¬ 
ing fingers scratched a little earth aside. 
Water—clear, cold, sparkling water— 
bubbled out from its hidden but limit¬ 
less source. 

The king and the princess at once 
thought better of the man who had so 

[ 68 ] 


THE THREE CROWS 

served them. So the fair daughter of a 
king became the bride of this servant 
of the people, and all lived happily as 
they deserved. 

One day, not long after they were 
married, Conrad was walking through a 
field when he met the two comrades who 
had treated him so badly. Though they 
did not know him in his princely garb, 
he knew them at once, and facing them 
he said: "Look at me! I am your old 
comrade in arms whom you left to die 
after you had beaten and robbed me. But 
your cruel designs have been defeated, 
and all the wrong you sought to do me 
has brought me good fortune instead.” 

When the two comrades heard this 
they fell at his feet, begging his forgive¬ 
ness, and as Conrad was kind of heart 
he granted their plea and took them to 
the palace, where he gave them food and 
[69] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

clothes. He told them all that had hap¬ 
pened to him, and how he had reached 
his honors through hearing what the three 
crows had said as he lay blind and suffer¬ 
ing under the tree where the rogues had 
bound him. 

As soon as they left the palace these 
ungrateful, greedy villains began plot¬ 
ting more evil against Conrad, whom 
they envied. 

They said: "We will go some night 
and listen to the crows. We may hear 
something which will put that proud 
fellow at our feet and bring us good 
luck besides.” 

So they went to the gallows tree and 
soon heard the birds fluttering to their 
perches, but could not understand their 
talk. 

"Sisters,” said one of the crows, 
"someone must have overheard us, for 
[70] 


THE THREE CROWS 

all the world is telling what wonders 
have been done. The blue flower has 
been plucked and burned, the princess 
is cured, a blind man has received his 
sight, and the spring has been found 
which gave water to the whole town. 
Whoever heard our secrets was an honor¬ 
able man, but my wisdom whispers that 
some villain is sneaking around with evil 
thoughts in his mind. We will punish 
any wrongdoer whom we may find.” 

Seeing the men lying at the foot of 
their tree, the crows flew at them in a 
great rage, plucked out their eyes with 
sharp beaks, and beat their heads with 
angry wings until the men were nearly 
dead. In that plight Conrad found them, 
justly punished for their baseness. 


STAR DOLLARS 


\ 


O NCE upon a time there was a 
) little girl whose father and 
mother died leaving her so 
poor that she had no roof to shelter her 
and no bed to sleep in. At last she had 
nothing left but the clothes on her back, 
and a loaf of bread, which some kind per¬ 
son had given to her, in her hand. But 
she was a good and pious little girl, and 
when she found herself forsaken by all 
she went into the fields, trusting God. 
[72] 




























































































GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

Soon she met a poor man, who said to 
her, "Give me something to eat, for I 
am very hungry.” She handed him the 
whole loaf, and with a "God bless you! ” 
walked on. 

Next she met a little girl crying. This 
child said, "Pray give me something to 
cover my head, it is so cold! ” So she 
took off her bonnet and gave it away. 

Then she met another who had no 
dress, and to this one she gave her 
frock. 

By that time it was growing dark, 
and our little girl entered a forest, where 
she met a fourth person, who begged for 
something to wear, and to her she gave 
her petticoat. For, thought our hero¬ 
ine, "It is growing dark, and no one will 
see me, so I can give away this.” 

And now, when she had scarcely any¬ 
thing left to cover herself with, some of 
[ 74 ] 


STAR DOLLARS 


the stars fell down in the form of silver 
dollars, and among them she found a 
petticoat of the finest linen! And in 
that she collected the star money, which 
made her rich all the rest of her life! 


[75] 



THE GOLD CHILDREN 


O NCE upon a time there was a 
j poor man and his wife who had 
nothing in the world but their 
hut. They lived from hand to mouth by 
catching fish. Once the man, sitting by 
the water’s edge, threw in his net and 
drew out a golden fish. While he was 
looking at the fish with great wonder, it 
said: "Do you hear, fisherman? Throw 
me back into the water, and I will change 
your hut into a fine castle.” 

But the fisherman replied, "What use 
is a castle to me if I have no food?” 

[ 76 ] 





THE GOLD CHILDREN 


"That is taken care of,” said the fish, 
"for in the castle you will find a cup¬ 
board which is full of food.” 

"Well, if that be so,” said the man, 
"you will soon have your wish.” 

"Yes,” said the fish, "but you must 
make me one promise: that you will 
tell nobody in the world, whoever he 
may be, from whence your luck comes, 
for if you speak a single word about it, 
all will be lost.” 

The man threw the fish back into the 
water and went home, and where his 
hut had stood he found a large castle. 
The sight made him open his eyes, 
and stepping in he found his wife 
dressed in costly clothes sitting in a 
large room. 

She was very much pleased and said: 
"Husband, how has all this happened? 
This is very nice! ” 

[ 77 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 


"Yes,” said her husband, "it pleases 
me also; but now I am hungry, so give 
me something to eat.” 

His wife said, "I have nothing, and I 
am sure I do not know where to find 
any food in this new house.” 

"Oh, there is a great cupboard; open 
that,” said the husband; and as soon as 
she did so, behold! there were cakes, 
meat, and fruit. 

At the sight of these the wife laughed, 
and cried, "What else can you wish for 
now, my dear?” and they began eating 
at once. But when they had had enough, 
the wife asked, "Now, my husband, 
whence comes all this?” 

"Ah,” he said, "do not ask! I dare 
not tell you, for if I let out the secret 
to anyone our fortune will fly.” 

"Well, I am sure I do not want to 
know,” she replied; but she was not in 

[ 78 ] 


THE GOLD CHILDREN 


earnest, and she let him have no peace, 
night or day, teasing him so long that 
at last he told her that all their fortune 
came from a golden fish which he had 
caught and set free again. 

No sooner were the words out of his 
mouth than the fine castle, with its cup¬ 
board, was gone, and they found them¬ 
selves again in their old hut. 

The man now had to take up his old 
trade of fishing, and he pulled out the 
golden fish a second time. 

"Alas,” said the fish, "let me go again, 
and I will give you back your castle, 
with the cupboard of meat; only keep 
it secret, or again you will lose all.” 

"I will take care,” replied the fisher¬ 
man, and he threw the fish into the water. 

At home all was in its former splendor, 
and the wife was glad of her good for¬ 
tune, but after a few days she began to 
[ 79 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 


beg her husband again to tell her how 
he came by the castle. 

For a long time the man held his 
tongue, but at length he became so angry 
with her that he told the secret. At the 
same moment the castle sank into the 
earth, and they found themselves in 
the old hut. 

"There, are you happy now?” said 
the man to his wife. "Now we may feel 
the pangs of hunger again.” 

"Ah,” she replied, "I do not care for 
wealth unless I may know from whence 
it comes.” 

The man went fishing again, and in 
a few days he was lucky enough to pull 
up the golden fish for a third time. 

"Well, well,” said the fish, "I see I 
am fated to fall into your hands, so take 
me home and cut me into six pieces, 
two of which you must give to your wife 
[80] 


THE GOLD CHILDREN 

to eat, two to your horse, and two you 
must put into the ground, and then you 
will be blessed.” 

The man took the fish home, and did 
as it had said. From the two pieces 
which he sowed in the ground, two 
golden lilies grew up; from the two pieces 
eaten by the horse, two golden colts were 
born; and from the wife’s share, she had 
two gold children. 

The children grew up beautiful and 
fair, and with them grew the two lilies 
and the two colts. 

One day the children said to their 
father, "We will mount our golden 
steeds and travel in the world.” 

But he replied, "How shall I know 
if you are well and happy when you are 
so far from me?” 

"The two golden lilies,” said they, 
"will remain here, and by them you can 
t 81 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

see how we prosper: do they remain 
fresh, so are we well; do they droop, so 
are we ill; do they die, so are we dead.” 
With these words they rode away. 

Soon they came to an inn where 
there were many people, who, when they 
saw the two gold children, laughed at 
them. 

One of the children, when he heard 
the jeers, was ashamed and would go 
no farther, but turned round and went 
home to his father. The other rode on 
till he came to a large forest. Just as 
he was about to ride into it the people 
said to him, "You would better not go 
there, for the forest is full of robbers, 
who will act badly to you, and when 
they see that you and your horse are 
golden they will kill you.” 

But the youth said, "I must and 
will go.” 


[ 82 ] 


THE GOLD CHILDREN 

Then he took bearskins and covered 
himself and his horse with them, so that 
nothing golden could be seen. This 
done, he rode into the wood. 

When he had ridden a little way he 
heard a rustling among the bushes and 
soon heard voices talking. One voice 
said, "Here comes one!” But another 
said: "Let him alone; he’s only a bear- 
hunter and as poor and cold as a church 
mouse. What should we do with him?” 

So the gold child rode unharmed 
through the forest. Next he came to a 
village, where he saw a maiden so beau¬ 
tiful that he thought there could not be 
one like her in all the world. He loved 
her and asked her if she would be his 
wife. 

The maiden was very much pleased 
and said, "Yes, I will become your wife 
and be true to you forever.” 

[ 83 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

So they made a wedding feast, and 
while they were still at the table the 
father of the bride came and asked in 
great anger where the bridegroom was. 

They showed him the gold child, 
who still wore his bearskins around 
him, and the father said, "Never shall 
a bear-hunter marry my daughter! ” and 
he would have killed him. 

The bride begged for his life, saying, 
"He is my husband, and I love him 
with all my heart,” so at last her father 
consented to spare him. 

The father, however, was always think¬ 
ing about this man, and one morning he 
rose early in order to look at his daugh¬ 
ter’s husband and see whether he were 
a common ragged beggar or not. When 
he looked, behold there was a gold 
man, while the bearskin lay upon the 
ground. Then the father went away, 
[ 84 ] 


THE GOLD CHILDREN 

well pleased that he had not killed the 
bear-hunter. 

The same night the gold child 
dreamed that he hunted a fine stag, and 
when he awoke in the morning he said to 
his bride, "I must be off to the hunt! ” 

She begged him to stay, and said, "A 
great misfortune may happen to you,” 
but he said, "I must and will go!” 

So he rode away into the forest, and 
soon met a proud stag, just as he had 
dreamed. He aimed at it, and would 
have shot, but the stag sprang off. Then 
he followed it over hedges and ditches 
the whole day, and at evening it went 
from his sight. When now the gold 
child looked round he found himself 
before a little house where dwelt a witch. 
He knocked at the door, and a little old 
woman came, and asked, "What are you 
doing so late in the midst of this forest? ” 
[85] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

"Have you seen a stag?” the gold 
child inquired. 

"Yes,” replied the old woman; "I 
know the stag well.” Just then a little 
dog barked loudly at the stranger. 

"Be quiet, you evil dog!” he cried, 
"or I will shoot you.” 

At this the witch was in a great pas¬ 
sion and cried, "What! will you kill 
my dog?” Then she turned the gold 
child into a stone. 

His poor wife waited for him in vain, 
and soon she thought, "Ah! what I 
feared in my heart has fallen upon 
him.” 

At home the other brother stood by 
the golden lilies, and suddenly one of 
them fell off. "Ah, heaven!” said he, 
"some misfortune has happened to my 
brother! I must be off and see if I can 
save him.” 


[86] 







IMS* 


.;.v.- 






mm 

mm# 






mw& 


YS/,'S/.'V.' 


3la;voohje- psk/©-r \jxi\fc 


.v 
























































































































































GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

But the father said: "Stay here. If 
I lose you too, what will become of 
me?” 

"I must and will go,” said the youth. 
So he mounted his golden horse and 
rode away till he came to the large forest 
where his brother lay in the form of a 
stone. Out of her house came the old 
witch. She called to him, and would 
have turned him to stone also, but, with¬ 
out going near her, he said, "I will shoot 
you if you do not restore my brother 
to me.” 

She was afraid of the brave brother, 
and touching the stone with her fingers 
she gave the gold child his human 
form again. 

The two gold children were full of 
joy when they saw each other again, and 
kissed and embraced and rode together 
out of the forest. Then they parted— 

[ 88 ] 


THE GOLD CHILDREN 


the one went to his bride and the other 
to his father. 

The father said to the child that re¬ 
turned to him, "I knew that you had 
saved your brother, for the golden lily 
became fresh and blooming while you 
were gone.” 

After this they lived happily, and all 
went well with them till the end of 
their lives. 


[89] 



THE WHITE SNAKE 

TTONG ago there lived a king whose 
wisdom was the wonder of the 

J -/ world. Nothing was unknown to 

him, and it seemed as if the tidings of 
the most hidden things were borne to 
him through the air. He had, however, 
one strange custom: every noon, when 
the table was quite cleared and no one 
else was present, his trusty servant had 
to bring him a covered dish. The serv¬ 
ant himself did not know what lay in 
it, and no man knew, for the king never 
ate thereof until he was quite alone. 

[90] 






THE WHITE SNAKE 

This went on for a long time, until one 
day the servant who carried the dish was 
seized with such a desire to know the 
secret that he could not resist it, and so 
took the dish into his chamber. As soon 
as he had locked the door he raised the 
cover, and there lay before him a white 
snake. When he saw it he wished to taste 
it, so he cut a piece off and put it into his 
mouth. Scarcely had his tongue touched 
it when he heard before his window a 
strange whisper of low voices. 

He listened, and found out that it 
was the sparrows, who were talking with 
one another and telling what each had 
seen in field or wood. The morsel of 
the snake had given him the power to 
understand the speech of animals. 

Now it happened on this day that the 
queen lost her finest ring, and many 
thought this faithful servant, who had 

j [91 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

the care of all her jewels, had stolen it. 
The king ordered him to appear before 
him and said in angry words that he 
should be taken up and tried if he did 
not know before the morrow whom to 
name as the guilty person. 

In his distress and trouble the servant 
went away into the courtyard, thinking 
how he might help himself. There, on 
a running stream of water, the ducks 
were smoothing themselves down with 
their beaks while they talked to one 
another. The servant stood still and 
listened to them as they told where they 
had waddled and what nice food they 
had found. One said, in a vexed tone, 
"Something very hard is in my stomach, 
for in my haste I swallowed a ring which 
lay under the queen’s window.” 

Then the servant caught the speaker 
up by her neck and carried her to the 
[92 ] 


THE WHITE SNAKE 


cook, saying, "Just kill this fowl; it is 
fat.” 

"Yes,” said the cook, lifting it in her 
hand, "it has spared no trouble in cram¬ 
ming itself; it ought to have been roasted 
long ago.” So saying, she chopped off its 
head. When she cut the duck open, in 
its stomach was found the queen’s ring. 

The servant was now able to prove 
his innocence to the queen, who, wish¬ 
ing to repair the wrong done him, not 
only granted him pardon but offered him 
the greatest place of honor at court. 
The servant refused the office and asked 
for a horse and money instead, for he 
had a desire to see the world and to 
travel about it for a while. 

As soon as his wish was granted he 
set off on his tour. One day he came to 
a pond, in which he saw three fishes 
caught in the reeds, gasping for water. 

[ 93 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

Although men say fishes are dumb, yet 
he heard their complaint that they must 
soon die. Having a kind heart he put 
them into the water again. They 
splashed about for joy and, putting 
their heads above the water, said to 
him, "We will be grateful and repay 
you for saving us.” 

The youth rode onward, and after a 
while heard, as it were, a voice in the 
sand at his feet. He listened and heard 
an ant king complain thus: "If these 
men would but keep away with their 
great fat beasts! Here comes an awk¬ 
ward horse treading my people underfoot 
without mercy.” So he rode onto a side 
path, and the ant king called to him, 
"We will be grateful and reward you.” 

His way led him into a forest, and 
there he saw two ravens dragging their 
young out of their nest. "Off with you,” 
[ 94 ] 


THE WHITE SNAKE 

they cried, "we can feed you no longer; 
you are big enough now to help your¬ 
selves.” 

The poor young ones lay on the ground 
beating their wings and crying: "We 
helpless children, we must feed our¬ 
selves, we who cannot fly yet! What is 
left to us but to die here of hunger?” 
Then the servant gave them food enough 
to last until they could fly, and they 
said, "We will be grateful and will re¬ 
ward you in time of need! ” 

After the youth had gone a long way 
he came to a large town, in the streets 
of which there was a great crowd. A 
man on horseback shouted as he rode, 
"The princess seeks a husband; but he 
who wins her must perform a hard task, 
and if he fails his life shall be lost.” 

Many had tried in vain. But when 
the youth saw the princess he was so 
[ 95 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

blinded by her beauty that he forgot all 
danger and, stepping before the king, 
offered himself as a suitor. 

He was taken to the sea, and a golden 
ring was thrown in before his eyes. 
Then the king bade him fetch this ring 
up again from the bottom of the sea, 
adding, "If you rise without the ring 
you shall be thrown in again and again, 
until you perish in the waves.” Every¬ 
one pitied the handsome youth as they 
left him alone on the seashore. 

While he stood planning what he 
should do, he saw three fishes swim¬ 
ming toward him, and they were no 
others than the three whose lives he had 
saved. The middle one bore a mussel 
shell in its mouth, which it laid on the 
shore at the feet of the youth, who 
opened it and found the gold ring 
within. 


[96] 


THE WHITE SNAKE 


Full of joy he took the jewel to the 
king, hoping that he should receive his re¬ 
ward. But the proud princess, when she 
saw that he was not her equal in birth, 
was ashamed of him and gave him a 
second task. She went into the garden 
and strewed there ten bags of millet seed 
in the grass, saying, "These he must pick 
up before sunrise tomorrow, and let him 
not miss one grain.” 

The youth sat down in the garden, 
wondering how he could do it, but as 
he could devise no way he sat there in 
sorrow, fearing at the dawn of day to be 
led to his death. 

However, as soon as the first rays of 
the sun fell on the garden, he saw that 
the ten sacks were all filled and standing 
by him, while not a single grain was left 
in the grass. The ant king had come in 
the night with his thousands and thou- 
[ 97 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 


sands of followers, and the grateful in¬ 
sects had picked up every seed of the 
millet and put it into the sacks. 

The princess herself came into the 
garden and saw with wonder that the 
youth had done what was asked of him. 

Still she could not bend her proud 
heart, and she said, "Although he may 
have done these two tasks, yet he shall 
not be my husband until he has brought 
me an apple from the tree of life.” 

The youth did not know where the 
tree of life stood. He started, indeed, 
and was willing to go, but he had no 
hope of finding it. 

After he had gone through three king¬ 
doms he came at evening to a forest and 
sat down under a tree, for he wished to 
sleep. 

Suddenly he heard a rustling in the 
branches, and a golden apple fell into 

[ 98 ] 






♦ 






A 













































GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

his hand. At the same time three ravens 
flew down and settled on his knee, say¬ 
ing: "We are the three young ravens 
whom you saved from dying of hunger. 
When we were grown up and heard that 
you sought the golden apple, then we 
flew over the sea, even to the end of the 
world, where stands the tree of life, and 
we have brought you the apple.” 

Full of joy the youth set out on his 
return and gave the golden apple to the 
beautiful princess, who now had no more 
excuses. So they divided the apple of 
life, and after they had eaten it the 
heart of the princess was filled with love 
toward the youth, and they lived to a 
great age in peace and happiness. 


1 mo ] 



THE MUSICIANS AT BREMEN 


O NCE upon a time an ass that 
) had been a faithful, hard¬ 
working animal for many years 
became unfit for heavy tasks because of 
his old age. His master therefore made 
up his mind to kill the poor creature. 

The ass overheard some talk about 
his having outlived his usefulness, and 
being a shrewd animal ran away from 
the pasture, where he had been turned 
out to graze, and began a journey 

[ IOI ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

toward Bremen. "There,” he thought to 
himself, "as I have a good voice I may 
chance to be chosen town musician.” 

After he had traveled a little way he 
saw a dog lying panting by the roadside, 
as if he was too tired to go farther. 

"What is it that makes you pant so, 
my friend?” asked the ass. 

"Alas! ” answered the dog, "my mas¬ 
ter was going to knock me on the head 
because I am so old and weak that I can 
no longer be of use to him in the chase. 
So I ran away. But what can I do to 
earn my living?” 

"Hark ye,” said the ass, "lam going to 
Bremen to be a musician. Comewith me.” 

The dog was glad of this friendly 
offer, so they jogged slowly along to¬ 
gether until they met a cat in the middle 
of the road. She looked as sad as three 
wet days. 


1 102 ] 



THE MUSICIANS AT BREMEN 


"Pray, my good lady,” said the ass, 
"what is the matter with you? You 
look quite out of spirits.” 

"Ah me! ” answered Grimalkin; "how 
can a poor old body be in good spirits 
when her life is in danger. Because I 
am beginning to age, and would rather 
lie by the fire than run about the house 
to catch mice, my mistress, who used to 
stroke me gently and praise me for a 
good mouser,”—here the cat wiped tears 
from her blinking eyes, and choked with 
the words,—"she, my beloved mistress, 
laid hold of me this very day and tried 
to drown me. I was lucky enough to get 
away from her, but I know not how I am 
to live! ” 

"Oh,” said the ass, "by all means you 
must go with us to Bremen. You are a 
good singer at night and may make your 
fortune as one of the Waits.” 

[ 103 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

The ass introduced the cat to the 
dog, who gave her his paw and offered 
to carry her on his back until she should 
recover from her fright and feel quite 
able to walk. 

The cat was pleased with the manners 
of both the ass and the dog. Indeed, 
the kindness of both made her feel 
stronger, so wiping her eyes with her 
tiny handkerchief she joined the party, 
saying she already felt able to walk. 

Soon afterwards, as they passed a 
farmyard, they saw a cock perched upon 
a gate, screaming with all his might. 

"Bravo!” said the ass. "Upon my 
word, you make a fine noise. Pray what 
is it all about?” 

"Why,” said the cock, "I was just 
now telling all the neighbors that we 
have fine weather for our washing-day, 
and in spite of that my mistress and 
[ 104 ] 



.v.v 


i i ■ V 


. 










;*! v.;t^!v’v !;> KvS<; 




v.XvXvXvX; 


•IcuncKe 


Sill 


3 


§: 











































































GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

the cook threaten to cut off my head to¬ 
morrow and make broth of me for the 
guests that are coming Sunday! ” 

"Heaven forbid! ” said the ass; "come 
with us, Master Chanticleer. Anything 
will be better than staying here to have 
your head cut off. Besides, if we take care 
to sing in tune, we may get up a concert 
of our own. So come along with us.” 
"With all my heart! ” said the cock. 
So the four went on toward Bremen, 
the cat consenting to ride upon the 
dog’s back when they had to cross 
puddles in the road, for you have, per¬ 
haps, noticed that cats do not like to get 
mud on their pretty paws. The cock 
perched upon the neck of the ass, and 
once in a while tried his voice to get it 
in tune with the ass’s bray. 

When night came the four friends 
turned into a wood to sleep. The ass 
[ i°6 J 


THE MUSICIANS AT BREMEN 

and the tired dog lay down under a tree; 
while the nimble cat climbed upon a low 
branch, resting as well as she could in 
a crotch of the tree. The cock, think¬ 
ing that the higher he perched the safer 
he would be, flew nearly to the top of 
the tree. Looking about on all sides 
to see that no owl or nighthawk was 
near, he spied something bright in the 
distance. Calling to his companions, he 
said, "There surely must be a house 
close by, for I see a light.” 

"If that is true,” said the ass, "we will 
change our quarters, for our lodgings 
here are not the best in the world! ” 
"Besides,” added the dog, "I should 
like a bone or two, and I would not 
refuse a bit of meat.” 

"And maybe,” said Puss, "a stray 
mouse or a saucer of milk for me may 
be found on the premises.” 
i [107] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

So they walked away to the place 
where Chanticleer had seen the light. 
As they drew near, the light became 
larger and brighter, till at last they came 
close to a lonely house where a gang of 
robbers lived. 

The ass, being the tallest of the musi¬ 
cal band, marched up to the window and 
peeped in. 

"Well, Donkey,” said Chanticleer, 
"what do you see?” 

"What do I see?” replied the ass. 
"Why, I see a table spread with all 
kinds of good things, and robbers sitting 
around it making merry.” 

"That would be a comfortable lodg¬ 
ing for us,” said the cock. 

"Yes,” said the ass, "if we could only 
get inside.” 

So the friends put their wits to work to 
see how they could get rid of the robbers. 

[ i°8 ] 


THE MUSICIANS AT BREMEN 

At last they hit upon this plan, which 
you will agree was a clever one. The ass 
stood upright on his hind legs, with his 
forefeet resting on the window sill. The 
dog stood on the donkey’s back, the 
cat scrambled up on the dog’s shoulders, 
and the cock flew up to sit on the cat’s 
head. 

When all were ready Chanticleer gave 
the signal by jerking the cat’s head. 

Then Puss mewed, the dog yapped, 
the ass brayed, and the cock crowed. In 
the noisiest part of this performance the 
donkey struck the window with his hoof, 
and they all tumbled through, making a 
hideous clatter! 

The robbers, who had been frightened 
by the first notes of this strange sere¬ 
nade, scrambled out of the house as fast 
as they could, not doubting that hob¬ 
goblins .had found their hiding-place. 

[ 109 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

The robbers having gone, our travelers 
feasted upon what food was left, and 
when the last morsel was eaten they 
made ready for a good sleep. 

The donkey chose a heap of straw in 
the yard and stretched his tired legs; the 
dog turned himself around and around, 
as dogs will before lying down, and then 
dropped upon a mat behind the door; the 
cat curled herself cosily on the hearth; 
the cock perched upon the ridgepole 
of the house; and all were soon fast 
asleep. 

When the robbers, who were still lurk¬ 
ing around, saw that the lights were put 
out, they began to think they had been 
too easily scared away from their booty, 
and the boldest one of them went back 
to see what might be going on. As there 
was no sound or sign of hobgoblins he 
marched into the kitchen and groped 


THE MUSICIANS AT BREMEN 

around until he found a match to light 
a candle. 

Suddenly the robber caught sight of 
the fiery eyes of Grimalkin, and mistak¬ 
ing them for live coals held the match 
near them. The cat, not liking such a 
joke, sprang at his face and scratched 
him with all her might. This frightened 
the robber so that he ran for the back 
door, but there the dog jumped up and 
bit him in the leg. 

As the man hurried out to the yard, 
the ass, angry at being broken of much- 
needed rest, leaped up and viciously 
kicked him, while the cock, always a 
light sleeper, began to crow with all his 
might. 

At this the robber ran to his comrades 
and told the captain of the band that a 
horrid witch had got into the house and 
had spit at him and had scratched his 
[ in 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

face with her long bony fingers, that a 
man had hidden behind the door and 
stabbed him in the leg, that a black 
monster stood in the yard and struck 
him with a club, and that a demon sat 
on the housetop and shouted: "Throw 
the rascal up here! throw the rascal up 
here! throw the rascal up here! ” 

After this the robbers did not dare to 
go back to the house, and our musical 
friends were so well pleased with their 
quarters that they never tried to go any 
nearer to Bremen. 


[ HZ ] 


BRIAR ROSE 


TTN OLDEN times there lived a king 
and queen who wished day by day 
«IL that they had children, and yet never 
a one was born. 

One day, as the queen was bathing, a 
frog hopped out of the water and said to 
her, "You shall have your wish; before 
a year passes you shall have a daughter.” 

As the frog had said, so it happened, 
and a little girl was born who was so 
beautiful that the king almost lost his 
senses. 

[113] 









GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

He ordered a great feast to be held, and 
invited to it not only his relatives, friends, 
and acquaintances but also twelve fairy 
women who are kind to children. There 
happened to be thirteen of these in his 
kingdom, but, since he had only twelve 
golden plates from which they could eat, 
one had to stay at home. 

The feast was held, and as soon as it 
was over the wise women gave the in¬ 
fant their wonderful gifts: one gave vir¬ 
tue, another beauty, a third riches, and 
so on, until the child had everything 
that is to be desired in the world. 

Just as eleven had given their presents, 
the thirteenth old lady stepped in. She 
was in a passion because she had not 
been invited, and without greeting or 
looking at anyone she exclaimed loudly, 
"The princess shall prick herself with a 
spindle on her fifteenth birthday and 
1114 1 


BRIAR ROSE 


die! ” Immediately she turned her back 
and left the hall. 

All were terrified. But the twelfth 
fairy, who had not yet made her wish, 
stepped up, and because she could not 
take away the evil wish, but could only 
soften it, she said, "The princess shall 
not die of the wound, but shall fall into 
a sleep for a hundred years.” 

Then the king, who wished to protect 
his child from this fate, made a decree 
that every spindle in the kingdom should 
be burned. 

In time all the wishes of the wise 
women were fulfilled, and the maiden 
became so beautiful, gentle, virtuous, 
and clever that everyone who saw her 
fell in love with her. 

On the day that she was fifteen years 
old she happened to be left alone in 
the castle. The maiden looked about in 
[«Sl 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

every place, going through all the rooms 
and chambers just as she pleased, until 
she came at last to an old tower. 

Up the narrow, winding staircase she 
tripped, until she came to a door in the 
lock of which was a rusty key. This she 
turned, the door swung open, and there, 
in a little room, sat an old woman spin¬ 
ning flax. 

"Good day, my good old lady,” said 
the princess, "what are you doing here ? ” 

" I am spinning,” said the old woman, 
nodding her head. 

"What thing is this which twists round 
so merrily?” asked the maiden, as she 
took the spindle to try her hand at 
spinning. 

Scarcely had she done so when she 
pricked her finger, and at the very same 
moment fell back in a deep sleep upon 
a bed which stood near. 

[ n6 ] 







ffls. 






xWx 




1 

mmmmm 


* 




■ 




¥:WSS : 




\ 






“'piancKe. ntshje.Tlatt' 


















































































GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

Everybody in the castle fell asleep 
also. The king and queen, who had just 
returned, fell asleep in the hall, and all 
their courtiers with them; the horses in 
the stables, the doves upon the eaves, 
the flies upon the walls, and even the 
fire upon the hearth all ceased to stir; 
the meat which was cooking stopped 
sizzling; and the cook, at the instant of 
pulling the hair of the kitchen boy, lost 
his hold and began to snore. The wind 
fell, and not a leaf rustled on the trees 
around the castle. 

Soon a thick hedge of briars began to 
grow around the palace. Every year it 
grew higher and higher, till the castle was 
quite hidden from view, so that one could 
not even see the flag upon the tower. 

Then there went through the land a 
legend of the beautiful maiden Briar 
Rose (for so was the sleeping princess 
[ n8] 


BRIAR ROSE 


named), and from time to time princes 
came and tried to break through the 
hedge into the castle. This was impos¬ 
sible, for the thorns held them, as if by 
hands, and the youths, unable to release 
themselves, perished miserably. 

After the lapse of many years there 
came into the country the son of another 
king. He heard an old man tell the 
legend of the hedge of briars, behind 
which stood a castle where slept a fair 
and lovely princess called Briar Rose 
who had slumbered nearly a hundred 
years, and with her the king and queen 
and all their court. The old man also 
told what he had heard from his grand¬ 
father, that many a prince had come from 
afar and tried to get through the hedge, 
but had died a miserable death. 

This youth was not to be daunted, 
and however much the old man tried to 
[ 119 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

dissuade him, he only answered, "I fear 
not; I will see this hedge of briars! ” 

Just at that time came the last day of 
the hundred years, when Briar Rose was 
to wake again. 

As the young prince drew near the 
hedge the thorns turned to large, fine 
flowers which, of their own accord, made 
a way for him to pass through and again 
closed behind him. 

In the courtyard he saw the horses 
and dogs lying fast asleep, and on the 
eaves were the doves with their heads 
beneath their wings. 

In the house he saw the flies asleep 
upon the wall, the cook still standing 
with his hand on the hair of the kitchen 
boy, and the maid at the board with 
the fowl in her hand. He went on, and 
found the courtiers lying asleep in the 
hall, and above, by the throne, were the 
[ 120 ] 


BRIAR ROSE 


king and the queen. He went on far¬ 
ther, and all was so quiet that he could 
hear himself breathe, till at last he came 
to the tower and opened the door of the 
little room where slept Briar Rose. 

There she lay, looking so beautiful 
that he could not turn away his eyes, 
and he bent over her and kissed her. 
As he did so she opened her eyes, awoke, 
and greeted him with smiles. 

Then they went downstairs together, 
and instantly the king and the queen 
and the whole court awoke and stared 
at each other. 

Then the horses in the stable got up 
and shook themselves; the dogs wagged 
their tails; the doves upon the eaves 
drew their heads from under their wings, 
looked around, and flew away; the flies 
upon the walls began to crawl; the fire 
began to burn brightly and to cook the 
1 121 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 


meat; the meat began again to sizzle; the 
cook gave the kitchen boy a box upon 
the ear which made him call out; and 
the maid began to pluck the fowl. The 
whole palace was once more in motion, 
as if nothing had occurred, for the hun¬ 
dred years’ sleep had made no change 
in anyone. 

By and by the wedding of the prince 
and Briar Rose was celebrated with 
great splendor, and to the end of their 
days they lived contented and happy. 


[ 122 1 


I 



THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD 


^HERE was once a poor wood¬ 
cutter who lived with his wife and 
three daughters in a little hut at 
the edge of a large forest. 

One morning when he went out to his 
usual work he said to his wife: "Let my 
dinner be brought by our eldest daughter, 
for I shall not be ready to come home 
until evening. That she may not lose 
her way I will take with me a bag of 
seeds and strew them in my path.” 

When the sun was risen to the center 
of the heavens the maiden set out on her 
way, carrying a jug of soup. But the 
1 [123] 





















GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

field-sparrows and wood-sparrows, the 
larks, blackbirds, goldfinches, and green¬ 
finches had picked up the seeds, so that 
the maiden could find no trace of the way. 

She walked on, trusting to fortune, 
till the sun set and night came on. The 
trees rustled in the darkness, the owls 
hooted, and the girl began to feel afraid. 
All at once she saw a shining light at a 
distance among the trees. 

"Surely people must dwell there,” she 
thought, "who will keep me during the 
night,” and she walked toward the light. 

In a short time she came to a cottage 
where the windows were all lighted up, 
and when she knocked at the door a 
hoarse voice called, "Come in.” 

The girl opened the door and saw a 
hoary old man sitting at a table with his 
face buried in his hands, and his white 
beard flowing over the table down to the 
[ 124 1 


THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD 


ground. On the hearth lay three animals 
—a hen, a cock, and a brindled cow. 

The girl told the old man her adven¬ 
tures and begged for a night’s lodging. 
The man said: 

"Pretty hen, pretty cock, 

And pretty brindled cow, 

What have you to say now?” 

"Cluck! ” said the fowls; and as that 
meant they were satisfied, the old man 
said to the maiden: "Here is abundance 
and to spare. Go into the kitchen and 
cook some supper for us.” 

The girl found plenty of everything 
in the kitchen and cooked a good meal, 
but thought nothing about the animals. 

When the supper was ready she car¬ 
ried a full dish into the room, and, sit¬ 
ting down opposite the old man, ate till 
her hunger was satisfied. This done, she 
[ 125 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

said: "I am very tired. Where shall I 
sleep ? ” 

The animals replied: 

"An ungracious guest, 

You have eaten your fill 
Without thought of us, 

But we bear no ill will; 

You may stay here and rest.” 

Thereupon the old man said: "Step 
down the stairs and you will come to a 
room containing two beds. Shake them 
up and cover them with white sheets, 
and then I will come and lie down to 
sleep myself.” 

The maiden stepped down the stairs, 
and as soon as she had shaken up the 
beds and covered them afresh she laid 
herself down in one. 

After some time the old man came, 
and looking at the girl shook his head 
when he saw that she was fast asleep. 


THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD 

Then, opening a trapdoor, he dropped 
her down into the cellar below. 

Late in the evening the woodcutter 
went home and scolded his wife because 
she had let him hunger all day long. 

"It is not my fault,” she replied; "the 
girl was sent out with your dinner. She 
must have lost her way, but tomorrow, 
no doubt, she will return.” 

At daybreak the next morning the 
woodcutter got up to go into the forest, 
and told his wife to send the second 
daughter with his dinner this time. "I 
will take a bag of peas,” he said. "They 
are larger than corn seed, and the girl 
will therefore see them better and not 
lose my track.” 

At noonday the girl set out with her 
father’s dinner, but the peas had all dis¬ 
appeared, for the wood birds had picked 
them up as they had picked up the seeds 
[ 1271 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

on the day before. So the girl wandered 
about till it was quite dark, and then 
she also arrived at the old man’s hut, 
was invited in, and begged food and a 
night’s lodging. 

The man of the white beard asked his 
animals again: 

"Pretty hen, pretty cock, 

And pretty brindled cow, 

What have you to say now ? ” 

They answered, "Cluck! ” and every¬ 
thing happened as on the previous day. 

The girl cooked a meal, ate and drank 
with the old man, but did not once think 
of the animals. When she asked for her 
bed they made answer: 

"An ungracious guest, 

You have eaten your fill 

Without thought of us, 

But we bear no ill will; 

You may stay here and rest.” 

[ 128 ] 



























































































































































































































































GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 


As soon as she had gone to sleep the 
old man came, and after looking at 
her and shaking his head as before he 
dropped her into the cellar below. 

On the third morning the woodcutter 
told his wife to send their youngest child 
with his dinner. 

"For,” said he, "she is always obedient 
and good; she will keep in the right path 
and will not run about like her sisters! ” 

But the mother refused and said, 
"Shall I lose my youngest child too?” 

" Be not afraid of that,” said her hus¬ 
band. "The girl will not miss her way; 
she is too steady and prudent. But I will 
take beans to strew. They are larger than 
peas and will show her the way better.” 

By and by, when the girl went out 
with her basket on her arm, she found 
that the wood pigeons had eaten up all 
the beans, and she knew not which way 
[ 130 ] - 


THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD 

to turn. She was full of trouble, and 
thought with sorrow how her father 
would want his dinner and how her dear 
mother would grieve when she did not 
return. At length, when it became quite 
dark, she also saw the lighted cottage, 
and entering it begged very politely to 
be allowed to pass the night there. 

The old man asked the animals a 
third time in the same words: 

"Pretty hen, pretty cock, 

And pretty brindled cow, 

What have you to say now?” 

"Cluck, cluck!” said they. There¬ 
upon the maiden stepped up to the fire, 
near which they lay, and fondled the 
pretty hen and cock, smoothing their 
plumage down with her hands and strok¬ 
ing the cow between her horns. 

Afterwards, when at the old man’s 
request she had prepared a good supper 
[ 1311 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

and had placed the dishes on the table, 
she thought to herself: "I must not 
satisfy my own hunger until I have fed 
these good creatures. There is plenty in 
the kitchen. I will serve them first.” 

Thus thinking, she brought some corn 
and strewed it before the fowls, and 
then she gave an armful of hay to the 
cow. 

"Now, eat away, you good creatures,” 
said she to them, "and when you are 
thirsty you shall have a cool, fresh drink.” 
So saying she brought in a pailful of 
water, and the hen and cock perched 
themselves on its edge, put their beaks 
in, and then drew their heads up as birds 
do when drinking. The cow also took 
a hearty draft. 

After the animals were thus fed, the 
maiden sat down at table with the old 
man and ate what was left for her. 

11321 


THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD 

In a short time the hen and cock be¬ 
gan to fold their wings over their heads, 
and the brindled cow blinked with both 
eyes. Then the maiden asked, "Shall 
we not also take our rest?” 

The old man replied as before: 

"Pretty hen, pretty cock, 

And pretty brindled cow, 

What have you to say now?” 

"Cluck, cluck!” replied the animals, 
meaning, 

"Dear courteous guest, 

You ate not until 
You had waited on us 
With hearty good will; 

We hope you will rest.” 

So the maiden went down the stairs 
and shook up the feather beds and laid 
on clean sheets. When they were ready 
the old man came and lay down in one, 
with his white beard stretching down to 
[ 133 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

his feet. The girl then lay down in the 
other bed, saying her prayers before she 
went to sleep. 

She slept quietly till midnight. At 
that hour there began such a tumult in 
the house that it awakened her. Pres¬ 
ently she heard a cracking and rumbling 
in every corner of the room, and the 
doors were slammed back against the 
wall. 

Then the beams groaned as if they 
were being torn away from their fasten¬ 
ings, and the stairs fell down, and at 
last it seemed as if the whole roof fell in. 
Soon after that all was quiet, and the 
maiden, who was unharmed, went quietly 
to sleep again. 

When, however, the bright light of 
the morning sun awoke her, what a 
sight met her eyes! She found herself 
lying in a large chamber, with every- 

[ !34 ] 


THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD 

thing around belonging to regal pomp. 
On the walls were gold flowers growing 
on a green-silk ground, the bed was of 
ivory, and the curtains of red velvet. 
On a stool close by was placed a pair 
of slippers ornamented with pearls. 

The maiden thought it was all a 
dream, but presently in came three serv¬ 
ants dressed in rich liveries, who asked 
her what were her commands. 

"Leave me,” replied the maiden; "I 
will get up at once and cook some 
breakfast for the old man and feed the 
pretty hen, the pretty cock, and the 
brindled cow.” She spoke thus because 
she thought the old man was already up, 
but when she looked round at his bed 
she saw a young and handsome stranger 
asleep in it. 

While she was looking at him he 
awoke, and starting up said to the 
[ *35 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

maiden: "I am a king’s son who was 
long ago changed by a wicked old witch 
into the form of an old man and con¬ 
demned to live in the wood, with nobody 
to bear me company but my three serv¬ 
ants in the forms of a hen, a cock, and 
a brindled cow. The enchantment was 
not to end until a maiden should come 
who would be kind to my animals as 
well as to me. Such you have been; 
therefore at midnight we were saved 
through you,, and the old wooden hut 
has again become my royal palace.” 

When he had thus spoken they arose, 
and the prince told his three servants 
to fetch the father and mother of the 
maiden, that they also might live in the 
palace. 

"But where are my two sisters?” 
asked the maiden. 

"I have put them into the cellar,” 
1136] 


THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD 

replied the prince, "and there they must 
remain till tomorrow morning, when they 
shall be led into the forest and bound as 
servants to a collier. When they have 
reformed their tempers and learned not 
to let poor animals suffer hunger, they, 
too, may live here.” 


[ m 1 



THUMBLING, THE DWARF WHO 
BECAME A GIANT 


O NCE upon a time an honest 
J farmer had a son born to him 
who was no bigger than my 
thumb, and for a number of years the 
child did not grow a hairbreadth taller. 

One day as the father was going to 
the field to plow, his little son said, 
"Father, let me go too?” 

"No,” said his father; "stay where 
you are. You can do no good out of 
doors, and if you go, I might lose you.” 
[138] 



THUMBLING, THE DWARF 

Little Thumbling began to cry, and 
to quiet him his father at last said he 
might go. 

Of course Thumbling could not keep 
up with his father on the way to the 
field, so the good man put the child in 
his pocket, and when they arrived at the 
field took him carefully out and set him 
upon the top of a newly made furrow 
so that the little fellow could look about 
him. 

While Thumbling was sitting there a 
giant came striding over the hill, a long 
way off, and the farmer said: "See that 
tall steeple man. Take care that he does 
not run away with you.” 

Now the father only said this to 
frighten Thumbling, so that he would 
not stray out of sight. But the giant 
came close to the furrow, with only a 
step or two, and seeing Thumbling picked 

J 1139 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 


him up to see if he were really a child 
or a new sort of grasshopper or cricket. 
Thumbling was not a bit afraid, and as 
the giant’s hand was warm, he rather 
liked walking about on it. The giant 
took a liking to the midget, though the 
father stood aside speechless with fright, 
for he thought he should never again see 
his dear child. 

The giant, however, was very gentle 
with Thumbling, taking him to his house 
in the woods, where he fed him with tiny 
morsels of the same kind of food upon 
which giants thrive. 

So Thumbling grew tall and strong 
like the giant who had adopted him. 

At the end of two years the old giant 
took Thumbling into the woods and put 
him beside a slender white birch tree, 
bidding him pull it up by the roots for 
a walking-stick. 


1140 ] 


THUMBLING, THE DWARF 

The lad easily tore the young tree out 
of the ground by its roots, and the giant 
was well pleased, but determined that 
Thumbling should grow even stronger. 
So he kept him two years longer, feeding 
him on giant’s fare, and then took him 
again to the woods, this time placing him 
beside an oak tree. 

"Pull it up, my little man,” said the 
giant, and Thumbling did as he was 
bidden. 

Then the old giant said, "Well done, 
you will get along now without any help,” 
and so saying he carried Thumbling back 
to the field where he first found him. 

Thumbling’s father happened to be 
plowing, just as he was when his son was 
lost, and the young giant went proudly 
up to him and said: "Look, father! See 
me! Don’t you know who I am ? Don’t 
you know your own son?” 

[ 1411 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

But the farmer was frightened and 
cried out, "No, no, you are not my 
son.” 

"Indeed, I am your own son. Let me 
plow a little. I’ve grown strong and can 
plow as well as you.” 

"No, no, go your way,” said the 
father, who, truth to tell, was afraid of 
the tall man before him. At last he let 
go of the plow and sat down on the 
ground beside it. 

Then the youth grasped the plow 
handles, and with but a slight push 
drove the plowshare deep, deep into the 
soil. 

The farmer was not pleased with the 
work, and said more harm than good 
came of such deep plowing. But his son 
unhitched the horses and said, "Father, 
go home and tell my mother that I want 
a good dinner.” 


[ 1421 


THUMBLING, THE DWARF 

% 

When his father was out of sight the 
giant went on driving the plow without 
any horses till the whole field was turned 
over, then he harrowed it while the horses 
rested, and when all was done he took 
up the plow, harrow, horses, and all as 
if they were only a bundle of straw and 
started for the house. On reaching home 
he sat down on a bench, saying, "Now, 
mother, is dinner ready?” 

"Yes,” said she, not daring to deny 
him anything. So enough food was 
brought to have lasted his parents eight 
days, but the son ate it all and then 
said: "I see plainly, father, that I shall 
not get enough to eat in this house. If 
you will give me an iron walking-stick, 
so strong that I cannot break it across 
my knee, I will go away again.” 

The farmer gladly hitched his two 
horses to the cart, drove them to the 
[143] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

forge, and dragged back a bar of iron as 
long and thick as the horses could draw. 

The lad snapped the bar across his 
knee as if it were only a dry beanstalk. 
"I see, father,” said he, "you can get no 
stick that will do for me, so I will go 
and try my luck for myself.” 

Then away he went and turned black¬ 
smith. He traveled till he came to a 
village where lived a miserly smith who 
earned a great deal of money, but kept 
it all for himself. 

Thumbling, now a young giant, you 
must remember, stepped up to the black¬ 
smith and asked if he wanted to hire a 
journeyman. 

"Ay,” said the cunning smith, as he 
looked at the stout young man and 
thought how lustily he could work. 
"What wages do you ask?” 

"I want no pay, but every fortnight 


# 


















































































GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

when the other workmen are paid you 
shall let me give you two strokes over 
your shoulders, just to amuse myself.” 

The old smith thought he could bear 
this very well, and reckoned on saving 
a great deal of money by such a bargain, 
which was struck at once. 

The next morning the new workman 
was about to begin work, but at the first 
stroke the red-hot iron was split in pieces 
and the anvil sunk so deep into the earth 
that it could not be got out. 

This made the master smith very 
angry, and he shouted: "I can’t have 
you for a workman; you are too clumsy. 
We must put an end to our bargain.” 

"Very well,” replied the young giant, 
"but you must pay for what I have done. 
Let me give you one of the little strokes 
agreed upon, and we shall be quits.” 
Saying which he gave the man a thump 
1146 ] 


THUMBLING, THE DWARF 

that sent him flying over a load of hay 
which was standing near. Then he took 
the thickest bar of iron on which he 
could lay his hands and went jogging 
along with it for a walking-stick. 

The first stop he made was at a farm¬ 
house, where he asked for work as a 
foreman. The farmer hired him at once, 
making the same agreement as that en¬ 
tered upon with the blacksmith. 

In the morning when all the workmen 
were ready to start, the giant was found 
asleep. 

"Come, get up,” said one of them to 
him. "It is high time to be stirring.” 

"Go your way,” Thumbling sleepily 
muttered. "I shall do my work and get 
home long before you.” So he lay in bed 
two hours longer, then got up, cooked 
and ate his breakfast, and leisurely har¬ 
nessed his horses to go to the wood. 
[147] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

Just before the wood was a hollow 
way through which he must pass, so he 
drove his cart on first and built up be¬ 
hind him a heap of brush and briars 
through which no horse could pass. 
This done he drove on, and on entering 
the wood met the others coming out to 
go home. 

"Drive away,” he called out cheer¬ 
fully, "I shall be there before you.” 
However, he had gone but a little way 
when he concluded to tear up one of the 
largest trees to take home on his cart. 
When he came to the brush heap in the 
hollow he found all the men standing 
there, unable to pass by. 

"So,” said he, "if you had stayed 
with me, you would have been home just 
as soon, and you might have slept two 
hours longer, as I did.” So saying he 
put the tree on one shoulder and the 
1148 ] 


THUMBLING, THE DWARF 

cart on the other, and strode through the 
barrier as if he were laden only with 
feathers. When he reached the-yard he 
showed the tree to the farmer and asked 
what he thought of his little walking- 
stick. 

"Wife,” said the farmer at supper, 
"this man is worth something. If He 
sleeps longer than the others, he still 
works better than they.” 

Time went on, until he had been on 
•the farm a whole year, and when the 
others were paid, he said he also had a 
right to his promised wages. 

Great dread came upon the farmer 
when he thought of the blows he was to 
have, so he begged to have the old bar¬ 
gain given up, offering his whole farm 
with all its stock instead. 

"Not I,” replied the giant; "I will be 
no farmer. A foreman I am, and a fore- 
[ 149 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 


man I will remain. You must pay as 
you agreed.” 

Finding he could do nothing with this 
stubborn workman, the farmer begged 
for a fortnight’s respite, which was 
granted. So he called all his friends in 
to get their advice on the matter. 

The friends took a long time to con¬ 
sider, and at last agreed that the short¬ 
est way out of all the trouble would be 
to kill the foreman, and be done with 
it. It was arranged that he should be 
ordered to carry some great millstones 
to the edge of the well, down which he 
should be sent to clean it out. While 
he was at the bottom of the well, the 
stones could be tumbled down upon 
his head. 

So down into the well Thumbling 
went, and the stones were rolled after 
him. As the stones struck the bottom, 
1150 1 


THUMBLING, THE DWARF 

water splashed to the very top. Of 
course the men thought the giant’s head 
must be crushed, but what was their 
surprise to hear him shout: "Drive those 
chickens away from the well. They are 
scratching the sand about, and it falls 
into my eyes! ” 

When his work in the well was fin¬ 
ished, up he sprang to the surface, 
laughing at the joke which they had 
been playing on him. "See what a fine 
neckcloth I have,” he said, pointing to 
one of the millstones that had fallen 
over his head and hung about his neck 
like a loose-fitting collar. 

The farmer was again overcome by 
fear and begged for another fortnight 
to think about his debt to the foreman. 
Again his friends advised him. This 
time they said the giant should be sent 
at night to grind corn in a haunted mill, 

[151] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 


out of which no man ever came alive. 
That very night the farmer sent him 
to the mill with eight bushels of corn 
to be ground. 

Away Thumbling went to the barn 
loft, where he put two bushels of corn 
into his right pocket, two into his left, 
and four into a long sack which he slung 
over his shoulders, and then set off to 
the mill. 

The miller told him that the mill was 
bewitched, so that he could only grind 
by daylight, for whoever went in at night 
was found dead the next morning. 

"Never mind, miller, I’ll come out 
safe. Only make haste to get out of the 
way, and look out for me in the morn¬ 
ing.” So saying, the giant went into the 
mill, put the corn into the hopper, and 
about twelve o’clock sat down on the 
bench in the miller’s room. 

[ J 52 ] 


THUMBLING, THE DWARF 

In a few minutes the door opened of 
itself and in came a table well set with 
a hearty meal. The chairs moved them¬ 
selves up, and as the man was hungry he 
took a seat and ate whatever he liked best. 

All of a sudden the lights went out, 
but this merry fellow said to himself, 
"No matter; one does not need a candle 
to go to sleep by.” 

As soon as it was pitch dark he felt 
a heavy blow upon his head. "Foul 
play!” he said; "if I get another box 
on the ear I shall hit back,” and this he 
did when the blow came. This was kept 
up until morning, and not for one moment 
did the courageous fellow feel afraid. 

At daybreak the miller came in and 
was greeted with: "Good morning to 
you. I’ve had a few slaps in the face, 
but I gave as good as I took, and mean¬ 
time I’ve eaten as much as I liked.” 

[ 153 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

The miller was glad to find that the 
evil spell was broken, and he would 
have given the brave foreman a large 
sum of money. But the man said, "I 
have all I need,” and taking the meal 
on his back went home to his master to 
claim his wages. 

The farmer was now in great trouble, 
and as he paced up and down the room 
great drops of sweat rolled down his 
face. He opened a window to get some 
fresh air, and before he knew it the 
foreman gave him a blow that sent him 
flying over the hills and far away. The 
next blow sent the farmer’s wife after 
her husband, and for aught I know they 
are flying yet. The foreman did not 
look after them, but took his stick and 
walked away. 


[ iS4 1 



THE IRON STOVE 


N THE days when wishing was hav¬ 
ing, a certain king’s son was en¬ 
chanted by an old witch and obliged 
to sit in a great iron stove which stood 
in a wood! There he passed many 
years, for nobody could release him. 
One day a princess who had lost herself, 
and could not find her way back to her 
father’s kingdom, came, after nine days’ 
wandering, to the spot where the iron 
stove stood. 


[ 155 1 










GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

As she came near the stove she heard 
a voice say, "Whence comest thou, and 
whither goest thou ? ” 

"I have lost the road to my father’s 
kingdom and am unable to find my 
home! ” the princess replied. 

"I will help you, and that in a short 
time,” said the voice from the iron stove, 
"if you will consent to what I desire. 
I am the child of a far greater king than 
your father, and I am willing to marry 
you.” 

The princess was frightened at this 
and exclaimed, "What can I do with an 
iron stove?” but as she was anxious to 
get home she consented to follow his 
directions. 

The prince told her that she might go 
I home, but she must return and bring 
| with her a knife with which to cut a 
hole in the stove, and then he gave her 
' 1156 ] 


THE IRON STOVE 


such minute directions as to her road 
that in two hours she reached her father’s 
palace. 

There was great joy there when the 
princess returned, and the old king fell 
on her neck and kissed her; but she 
was very unhappy, and said: "Alas, my 
dear father, how things have happened! 
I should never have got home out of 
the great wild wood had it not been for 
an iron stove which I have promised to 
marry.” 

The king was so frightened when he 
heard this that he fell into a swoon, for 
she was his only daughter. When he 
recovered they resolved that the mill¬ 
er’s daughter, a very pretty girl, should 
take the princess’s place; and so the 
maiden was led to the spot, furnished 
with a knife, and told to scrape a hole 
in the iron stove. 


[ 157 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 


For four and twenty hours she scraped 
and scraped without making the least 
bit of a hole; and when day broke, the 
voice out of the stove exclaimed, "It 
seems to me like daylight.'” 

"Yes,” replied the girl, "it seems so 
to me, too, and methinks I hear the 
clapping of my father’s mill.” 

"Oh, then, you are the miller’s daugh¬ 
ter,” said the voice again. "Well, you 
may go home and send the princess 
to me.” 

The girl therefore returned and told 
the king the stove would not have her, 
but demanded his daughter. This fright¬ 
ened the king and made the princess 
weep. But the king had also in his 
service a swineherd’s daughter, prettier 
still than the miller’s, to whom he offered 
a piece of gold if she would go to the 
iron stove instead of the princess. 

[158] 


THE IRON STOVE 


Thereupon this girl went away and 
scraped for four and twenty hours on 
the iron without making any impres¬ 
sion. When day broke, a voice in the 
stove exclaimed, "It seems to me like 
daylight.” 

"Yes, it is so,” said the girl, "for I 
hear my father’s horn.” 

"You are, then, the swineherd’s daugh¬ 
ter,” said the voice. "Go back and tell 
the princess, who sent you, that it must 
be as I said; and if she does not come to 
me everything in the old kingdom shall 
fall to pieces and not one stone be left 
upon another anywhere.” 

As soon as the princess heard this she 
began to cry, but it was of no use, for 
her promise must be kept. So she took 
leave of her father and, carrying a knife 
with her, set out toward the iron stove 
in the wood. 


[ 1 59 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

As soon as she reached it she began 
to scrape the iron, and before two hours 
had passed she had made a small hole. 
Through this she peeped, and inside 
the stove she beheld a handsome prince, 
whose clothes glittered with gold and 
precious stones. 

Then she scraped away faster than 
before, and soon made a hole so large 
that the prince could get out. 

"You are mine, and I am yours,” he 
said, as soon as he stood on the earth. 
"You are my bride, because you have 
saved me.” 

He wanted to take the princess at once 
to his father’s kingdom, but she begged 
that she might go back to her father to 
take leave of him. 

The prince consented to this, but said 
she must not speak more than three 
words and must return immediately. 

[ 160 ] 


THE IRON STOVE 

Thereupon the princess went home, 
but alas! she said many more than three 
words; and the iron stove disappeared 
and was carried far away over many icy 
mountains and snowy valleys, but with¬ 
out the prince, who was no longer shut 
up in his prison. 

By and by the princess took leave of 
her father and, taking a little gold, went 
back into the wood and sought for the 
iron stove, but could find it nowhere. 
For nine days she searched, and then 
her hunger became so great that she 
knew not how to help herself, and 
thought she must perish. 

When evening came she climbed up 
a little tree, for she feared the wild beasts 
which night would bring forth. 

Just at midnight she saw a little light 
at a distance. "Ah, there I may find 
help,” thought she; and getting down 
[ 161 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

she went toward the light, saying a praye: 
as she walked along. 

She soon came to a little hut sur¬ 
rounded with grass, and before the door 
stood a heap of wood. 

"Ah, how came you here?” thought 
she to herself, as she peeped through 
the window, and saw nothing but fat 
little toads and a table covered with 
meat and wine and dishes made of silver. 
She took courage and knocked, and a 
toad exclaimed: 

"Little toad with crooked leg, 

Open quick the door, I beg, 

And see who stands without.” 

As soon as these words were spoken, 
a little toad came running up and opened 
the door, and the princess walked in. 
The toads very politely bade her welcome 
and asked her to sit down. They then 
1162 ] 







Wm 


u 










Mi* 


y.v 






A 




vX; : : : x 






fc. 

mm 

W$$m 










WWW 











































































































































GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 


inquired whence she came and whither 
she was going. 

The princess told the toads that be¬ 
cause she had spoken more than three 
words the stove had disappeared, as well 
as the prince, and now she was about to 
search over hill and valley till she should 
find him. 

On hearing this the old toad cried out: 

"Little toad with crooked leg, 

Quickly fetch for me, I beg, 

The basket hanging on the peg.” 

So the little toad brought the basket 
to the old one, who took meat and milk 
from it and gave them to the princess. 
After that he showed her a beautiful bed 
made of silk and velvet, in which, under 
God’s protection, she slept soundly. 

As soon as day broke, the princess 
arose; and the old toad gave her three 
[ 164] 


THE IRON STOVE 

needles to take with her which would be 
of great use, since she would have to 
pass over a mountain of glass, three 
sharp swords, and a big lake before she 
would regain her lover. 

The old toad gave her, besides the 
three needles, a plow-wheel and three 
nuts. 

With these the princess set out on her 
way, and by and by came to the glass 
mountain, which was so smooth that she 
used the three needles as steps for her 
feet, and so reached the top. 

When she came to the other side she 
put the needles in a secure place, and 
soon coming to the three swords, she 
rolled over them by means of her plow- 
wheel. 

At last she came to a great lake, and 
when she had passed that she found 
herself near a fine large castle that be- 
[165] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

longed to her lost prince. She entered 
and offered herself as a servant, saying 
she was a poor girl who had rescued a 
king’s son from an iron stove which 
stood in the forest. 

After some delay she was hired as a 
kitchenmaid at very small wages, and 
soon found out that the prince was going 
to marry another lady because he sup¬ 
posed his princess was dead. 

One evening, when the princess had 
washed and made herself neat, she felt 
in her pocket and found the three nuts 
which the old toad had given her. One 
of them she cracked and found in it a 
fine royal dress instead of a kernel. 
The bride said she must have it, for it 
was no dress for a kitchenmaid; but the 
princess said she would sell it only on 
condition that she might be allowed to 
pass a night by the chamber of the prince, 
f 166 ] 


THE IRON STOVE 


This request was granted because the 
bride was anxious to have the dress, 
which was more beautiful than any of 
her own. When evening came she told 
her lover that the silly girl wanted to 
pass the night near his room. 

"If you are contented, so am I,” he 
replied; but she gave him a glass of wine 
into which she put a sleeping draft. In 
consequence he slept so soundly that the 
poor princess could not wake him, al¬ 
though she cried the whole night, and kept 
repeating: " I saved you in the wild forest 
and released you from the iron stove. 
I have sought you, and I traveled over a 
mountain of glass and over three sharp 
swords and across a wide lake before I 
found you, and still you will not hear me!” 

The servants, however, who slept in 
the anteroom, heard the complaint and 
told the king of it the following morning. 

[ 167 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

That evening, after the princess had 
washed herself, she cracked the second 
nut and found in it a dress more beau¬ 
tiful than the other, and the bride de¬ 
clared she must have it also. But it was 
not to be purchased except on the same 
condition as the first, and the prince 
again allowed her to sleep near his door. 

The bride, however, gave the prince 
another sleeping draft, and he slept too 
soundly to hear the poor princess cry¬ 
ing as before: "I saved you in the wild 
forest and released you from the iron 
stove. I have sought you, and I traveled 
over a mountain of glass and over three 
sharp swords and across a wide lake 
before I found you, and still you will 
not hear me! ” 

The servants, however, in the ante¬ 
room, heard the crying again and told 
the prince of it the next morning. 


THE IRON STOVE 

On the evening of that day the poor 
maid broke her third nut and produced 
a dress starred with gold, which the 
bride declared she must have at any 
price, and the maid begged for the same 
privilege as before. This time the prince 
threw away the sleeping draft, and there¬ 
fore when the princess began to cry, 
"Alas! my dear treasure, have you for¬ 
gotten how I saved you in the great 
wild wood and released you from the 
iron stove?” the prince heard her and, 
jumping up, exclaimed: "You are right. 
I am yours, and you are mine.” 

Thereupon, while it was yet night, he 
got into a carriage with the princess, 
first hiding the clothes of the false bride 
so that she might not follow them. 

When they came to the lake they 
rowed over very quickly, and passed the 
three sharp swords again by means of 
[ 169 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

the plow-wheel. Soon they crossed the 
glass mountain by the aid of the three 
needles, and arrived at last at the little 
old house, which, as soon as they en¬ 
tered, was changed into a noble castle. 

At the same moment all the toads 
were disenchanted and returned to their 
natural shapes, for they were the sons 
of the king of the country. 

So the wedding took place, and the 
prince and princess remained for some 
time in the castle. However, because 
the old king grieved at his daughter’s 
continued absence, they went to live 
with him, and, joining the government 
of the two kingdoms in one, they reigned 
many years in happiness and prosperity. 


[ 1701 



SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED 


V 1 1 "JHERE was once a poor widow 
who lived all alone in a hut with 
her two children, who were called 
Snow-White and Rose-Red because they 
were like the flowers which bloomed 
on two rosebushes that grew before the 
door. They were two as pious, good, in¬ 
dustrious, and amiable children as any 
in the world. Snow-White was more 
quiet and gentle than Rose-Red, for 
Rose-Red would run and jump about the 
meadows, seeking flowers, while Snow- 
I [!7I] 





































GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

White sat at home helping her mother 
to keep house, or reading to her, if there 
were nothing else to do. 

The two children loved each other 
dearly, and always walked hand in hand 
when they went out together; whenever 
they talked of it they agreed that they 
would never separate from each other, 
and that whatever one had the other 
should share. 

They often ran deep into the forest 
and gathered wild berries, but no beast 
ever harmed them. The hare would eat 
grass out of their hands, the fawn would 
graze at their side, the goats would frisk 
about them in play, and the birds re¬ 
mained perched on the boughs singing 
as if nobody were near. 

No accident ever befell them; and if 
they stayed late in the forest, and night 
came upon them, they used to lie down 
[ 1721 


SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED 

on the moss and sleep till morning. Be¬ 
cause their mother knew they would do 
so, she felt no concern about them. 

One time they had thus' passed the 
night in the forest, and when the dawn of 
morning awoke them they saw a beauti¬ 
ful child dressed in shining white sitting 
near their couch. She got up and looked 
at them kindly, but without saying any¬ 
thing went into the forest. When the 
children looked round they saw that they 
had slept close to the edge of a pit, into 
which they would have fallen had they 
walked a step further in the dark. 

Their mother told them the figure 
they had seen was doubtless the good 
angel who watches over children. 

Snow-White and Rose-Red kept their 
mother’s cottage so clean that it was a 
pleasure to enter it. Every morning in 
the summer time Rose-Red would first 
f i73] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

put the house in order and then gather 
a nosegay for her mother, in which she 
always placed a bud from each rose tree. 
Every winter’s morning Snow-White 
would light the fire and put the kettle 
on to boil, and although the kettle was 
made of copper it shone like gold be¬ 
cause it was so well scoured. 

In the evenings, when the flakes of 
snow were falling, the mother would say, 
"Go, Snow-White, and bolt the door”; 
and then they used to sit down on the 
hearth, and the mother would put on her 
spectacles and read out of a great book, 
while her children sat spinning. By 
their side, too, lay a little lamb, and on 
a perch behind them a little white dove 
rested with her head under her wing. 

One evening, when they were thus sit¬ 
ting together, there came a knock at the 
door, as if somebody wished to come in. 

[ 174 ] 


SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED 

"Make haste, Rose-Red,” cried her 
mother; "make haste and open the door. 
Perhaps there is some traveler outside 
who needs shelter.” 

So Rose-Red drew the bolt and opened 
the door, expecting to see some poor man 
outside, but instead a great fat bear 
poked his black head in. 

Rose-Red shrieked and ran back, the 
little lamb bleated, the dove fluttered on 
her perch, and Snow-White hid herself 
behind her mother’s bed. 

The bear, however, began to speak, 
and said: " Be not afraid; I will do you 
no harm. But I am half frozen, and I 
wish to come in and warm myself.” 

"Poor bear!” cried the mother; 
"come in and lie down before the fire, 
but take care you do not burn your¬ 
self.” And then she said, "Come here, 
Rose-Red and Snow-White, the bear will 
[ i7S 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

not harm you.” So they both came back, 
and by degrees the lamb and the dove 
overcame their fears and welcomed the 
rough visitor. 

"You, children,” said the bear, before 
he entered, "come and knock the snow 
off my coat.” Then Rose-Red and Snow- 
White took their brooms and swept 
him clean, and he stretched himself 
before the fire and grumbled out his 
satisfaction. 

In a little while the children became 
familiar enough to play tricks with the 
unwieldy animal. They pulled his long, 
shaggy fur, set their feet upon his back 
and rolled him to and fro, and even 
ventured to beat him with a hazel-stick, 
laughing when he grumbled. 

The bear bore all their tricks with 
good temper, and if they hit too hard 
he cried out: 


[ 176 ] 


SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED 

"Leave me my life, you children, 
Snow-White and Rose-Red, 

Or you’ll never wed.” 

When bedtime came and the others 
were gone, the mother said to the bear, 
"You may sleep here on the hearth if 
you like, and then you will be safely pro¬ 
tected from the cold and bad weather.” 

As soon as day broke, the two children 
let the bear out, and he trotted away 
over the snow. 

Afterwards he came every evening at 
a certain hour. He would lie down on 
the hearth and allow the children to play 
with him as much as they liked, till by 
degrees they became so accustomed to 
him that the door was left unbolted till 
their black friend arrived. 

But when spring returned, and every¬ 
thing out of doors was green again, the 
bear one morning told Snow-White that 
1 177 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

he must leave her, and could not return 
during the whole summer. 

"Where are you going, then, dear 
bear?” asked Snow-White. 

"I must go into the forest and guard 
my treasures from the evil dwarfs. For 
in winter, when the ground is hard, they 
are obliged to keep in their holes, and 
cannot work through; but now, since the 
sun has thawed the earth and warmed it, 
the dwarfs pierce through and steal all 
they can find, and what has once passed 
into their hands and gets concealed by 
them in their caves is not easily brought 
to light.” 

Snow-White, however, was very sad 
at the departure of the bear, and opened 
the door so hesitatingly that when he 
pressed through it he left behind on 
the latch a piece of his hairy coat, and 
through the hole which was made in 
[ 178] 


SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED 

his coat Snow-White fancied she saw 
the glittering of gold, but she was not 
quite certain of it. The bear, however, 
ran hastily away, and was soon hidden 
behind the trees. 

Some time afterwards the mother sent 
her children into the wood to gather 
sticks. On the way they came to a tree 
lying across the path, on the trunk of 
which something kept bobbing up and 
down, and they could not imagine what 
it was. 

When they came nearer they saw that 
it was a dwarf with an old, wrinkled face 
and a snow-white beard a yard long. 
The end of this beard was fixed in a slit 
of the tree, and the little man kept jump¬ 
ing about like a dog tied by a chain, for 
he did not know how to free himself. 

He glared at the maidens with his red, 
fiery eyes, and exclaimed: "Why do you 
[ 179 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

stand there? Are you going to pass 
without offering me any assistance?” 

"What have you done, little man?” 
asked Rose-Red. 

"You stupid, gazing goose!” ex¬ 
claimed he, "I wanted to split the tree 
in order to get a little wood for my 
kitchen. I drove the wedge in properly, 
and everything was going on well, when 
the smooth wood flew upwards and the 
tree closed so suddenly together that I 
could not draw out my beautiful beard, 
and here it sticks, and I cannot get 
away. There, don’t laugh, you milk- 
face thing! ” 

The children took all the pains they 
could to pull the dwarf’s beard out, but 
without success. 

"I will run and fetch some help,” 
cried Rose-Red at length. 

"Crack-brained sheepshead that you 

[ 180 ] 









■XvX 


“p'lavi.oVusi J’tsh^irlp^te_ 













































GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

are! ” snarled the dwarf; "what are you 
going to call other people for? You are 
two too many, now, for me. Can you 
think of nothing else ? ” 

"Don’t be impatient,” replied Snow- 
White, "I have thought of something,” 
and pulling her scissors out of her pocket 
she cut off the end of the beard. 

As soon as the dwarf found himself 
at liberty he snatched up a sack of gold 
which lay between the roots of the 
tree and, throwing it over his shoulder, 
marched off, grumbling, groaning, and 
crying: "Stupid people, to cut off a 
piece of my beautiful beard! Plague 
take you! ” and away he went without 
once looking at the children. 

Some time afterwards Snow-White and 
Rose-Red went fishing, and as they 
neared the pond they saw something 
like a great locust hopping about on the 

[ 182 ] 


SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED 

bank, as if going to jump into the water. 
They ran up and recognized the dwarf. 

"What are you after?” asked Rose- 
Red. "You will fall into the water.” 

"I am not quite such a simpleton as 
that,” replied the dwarf; "but do you 
not see that this fish will pull me in?” 

The little man had been sitting there 
angling, and unfortunately the wind had 
entangled his beard with the fishing-line; 
and so when a great fish bit at the bait 
the weak little fellow was not able to 
draw it out, and the fish had the best of 
the struggle. The dwarf held on by the 
reeds and rushes which grew near, but 
to no purpose, for the fish pulled him 
where it liked, and he must soon have 
been drawn into the pond. 

Luckily, just then the two maidens 
arrived, and tried to release the beard 
of the dwarf from the fishing-line, but it 
[183] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

was so entangled that they could not get 
it loose. So one of the maidens pulled 
out her scissors again and cut off another 
piece of the beard. 

When the dwarf saw this done he flew 
into a great rage and exclaimed: "You 
donkey! that is the way to disfigure my 
face! Was it not enough to cut it once, 
but you must now take away the best 
part of my fine beard ? I dare not show 
myself now to my own people. I wish 
you had run the soles off your boots be¬ 
fore you had come here! ” So saying, he 
took up a bag of pearls which lay among 
the rushes and, without speaking another 
word, slipped off and disappeared be¬ 
hind a stone. 

Not many days after this the mother 
sent the two maidens to the next town 
to buy thread, needles, pins, laces, and 
ribbons. 


11841 


SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED 

Their road passed over a common 
strewn with rocks. Just over their heads 
they saw a great bird flying round and 
round, and every now and then drop¬ 
ping lower and lower, till at last it flew 
down behind a rock. 

Immediately afterwards they heard a 
piercing shriek, and, running up, they 
saw with affright that the eagle had 
caught their old acquaintance the dwarf 
and was trying to carry him off. 

The compassionate children thereupon 
laid hold of the little man and held him 
fast till the bird gave up the struggle 
and flew off. 

As soon as the dwarf had recovered 
from his fright, he exclaimed in his 
squeaking voice: "Could you not hold 
me more gently? You have seized my 
fine brown coat in such a manner that it 
is all torn and full of holes, meddling 
fiSsl 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

rubbish that you are! ” With these 
words he shouldered a bag filled with 
precious stones and slipped away to his 
cave among the rocks. 

The maidens were now accustomed to 
his ingratitude, and they walked on to 
the town. Going home they passed over 
the same common, and, unawares, walked 
up to a clean spot on which the dwarf 
had shaken out his bag of precious 
stones, thinking nobody was near. 

The sun was shining, and the bright 
stones glittered in its beams, displaying 
such a variety of colors that the two 
maidens stopped to admire them. 

"What are you standing there gaping 
for?” asked the dwarf, while his face 
grew as red as copper with rage. He was 
still abusing the poor maidens, when a 
loud roaring was heard, and a great black 
bear came rolling out of the forest. 

[ 186 ] 


SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED 

The dwarf jumped up in terror, but 
he could not gain his hiding-place before 
the bear overtook him. Thereupon he 
cried out: "Spare me, my dear lord bear! 
I will give you all my treasures. See 
these beautiful precious stones which lie 
here. Only give me my life, for what 
have you to fear from a little weak fel¬ 
low like me? You could not touch me 
with your big teeth. There are two 
wicked girls; take them. They would 
make nice morsels; they are as fat as 
young quails. Eat them, I beg! ” 

The bear, however, without troubling 
himself to speak, gave the bad-hearted 
dwarf a single blow with his paw, and 
he never stirred again. 

The maidens were going to run away, 
but the bear called to them: "Snow- 
White and Rose-Red, fear not! Wait a 
bit, and I will go with you.” 
i [187] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

They knew his voice and stopped; and 
as the bear approached them his rough 
coat suddenly fell off, and he stood up 
a tall man, dressed entirely in gold. 

"I am a king’s son,” he said, "and was 
condemned by that wicked dwarf to 
wander about in this forest in the form 
of a bear till his death released me. He 
also stole all my treasures. Now he has 
his punishment.” 

Then they went home, and Snow- 
White was married to the prince, and 
Rose-Red to his brother. The mother 
lived happily for many years with her 
two children; and the rose trees which 
had stood before the cottage were 
planted near the palace, and every year 
produced beautiful red and white roses. 


t Ig 8] 



THE TWO BROTHERS 


O NCE upon a time there were 
| two brothers, one rich and the 
other poor. The rich man was 
a goldsmith and was very selfish, but the 
poor brother, who mended brooms, was 
honest and pious. 

The poor man had two children— 
twins, as like one another as two drops 
of water—who used often to go to their 
rich uncle’s house, where the cook would 
give them a dinner from pieces left by 
her master. 

One day when the broom-mender went 
1189 ] 






GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

into the woods for twigs he saw a golden 
bird, which was more beautiful than any 
bird he had ever before seen. He picked 
up a stone and flung it at the bird and 
hit it, but with so little force that only a 
single feather dropped off. This feather 
he took to his brother, who looked at it 
and said: "It is of pure gold! I will 
give you a good sum of money for it.” 

The next day the broom-mender 
climbed a birch tree to lop off a bough 
or two, when the same bird flew out of 
the branches, and as the man looked 
round he found a nest with an egg in it, 
and the egg was of pure gold. This he 
took to his brother, who gave him what 
it was worth, but said he must have the 
bird itself. 

For the third time, now, the man went 
into the forest, and again saw the golden 
bird sitting upon a tree. Taking up a 

[ ! 90 ] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 

stone, he threw it and killed the bird, 
which he took to his brother, and re¬ 
ceived a large pile of gold for it. With this 
the man went home with a light heart. 

The goldsmith was crafty and knew 
very well what sort of a bird it was. He 
called his wife and said to her, "Roast 
this bird for me, and take care of what¬ 
ever falls from it, for I have a mind to 
eat it by myself.” Now, the bird was 
not a common one, for it was said that 
if anyone should eat its heart and liver 
he would find a gold piece under his 
pillow every morning. 

The wife made the bird ready and, 
putting it on a spit, set it down to roast. 
While it was on the fire the two children 
of the poor broom-mender ran in, and 
two little tidbits fell out of the bird into 
the pan. These the goldsmith’s wife 
gave to the children, not knowing their 
1191 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

magic powers, but in order that her hus¬ 
band might not miss them and fly in a 
passion she quickly killed a little chicken, 
and taking out its liver and heart put 
them inside the golden bird. 

As soon as the bird was done she car¬ 
ried it to the goldsmith, who ate it quite 
alone and left nothing at all on the plate. 
The next morning, however, when he 
looked under his pillow to find the gold 
pieces, there was not the smallest one to 
be seen. 

The two children did not know what 
good luck had befallen them, but when 
they got up the next morning two gold 
pieces fell ringing on the ground. These 
they took to their father, who hardly 
knew what he should do with them; but 
as the next morning the same thing hap¬ 
pened, and so on every day, he went to 
his brother and told him the whole story. 

[ 192 ] 



XvXvf^'C^ 

mm 


mmm 

^4 


♦ 


mm 


M 
















































































































































GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 


The goldsmith knew at once that the 
children had eaten the heart and liver 
of his bird. In order to avenge himself, 
and because he was so hard-hearted, he 
told the father that his children were in 
league with evil spirits, and warned him 
not to take the gold, but to turn the chil¬ 
dren out of the house, for he said the 
Evil One had them in his power and 
would make them do some mischief. 

The father feared the Evil One, and 
although it cost him a sharp pang he led 
his children out to the forest and with 
a sad heart left them there. 

The two children ran about the wood 
seeking the road home, but they could 
not find it. At last they met a huntsman, 
who asked who they were. 

"We are the children of the poor 
broom-mender,” they replied. "Our 
father could no longer keep us at home, 
[ 194 ] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 


because a gold piece lay under our pil¬ 
lows every morning.” 

"Well,” replied the huntsman, "that 
does not seem right, if you are honest 
and not idle.” 

The good man, having no children of 
his own, took the twins home with him, be¬ 
cause they pleased him, and told them he 
would be their father and bring them up. 

With him they learned all kinds of 
hunting, and the gold pieces which they 
found each morning they laid aside 
against a rainy day. 

When they became young men the 
huntsman took them into the forest, and 
said, "Today you must show me how 
well you can shoot, that I may make 
you free huntsmen like myself.” 

So they went with him, and waited a 
long time, but no wild beast came. At 
last the huntsman, looking up, saw a 
[195] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

flock of wild geese flying over in the form 
of a triangle. "Shoot one from each 
corner,” said he to the twins. 

When they had done this another 
flock came flying over in the form of a 
figure 2, and from these they were also 
bidden to shoot one at each corner. 
When they had done this their foster 
father said, "I now make you free.” 

Then the two brothers went together 
into the forest to plan what they should 
do, and when at evening time they sat 
down to their meal they said to their 
foster father, "We shall not touch the 
least morsel of food till you have granted 
our request.” 

He asked them what it was, and they 
replied: "We have now learned every¬ 
thing you can teach us. Let us go into 
the world and see what we can do there, 
and let us set out at once.” 

[ 196 ] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 

"You have spoken like brave hunts¬ 
men,” cried the old man with joy. 
"What you have asked is just what I 
wished. You can set out as soon as you 
like, for you will succeed.” Then they 
ate together once more in great joy. 

When the day came for them to go the 
old huntsman gave to each youth a good 
rifle and a dog, and let them take from 
the gold pieces as many as they liked. 
Then he went with them a part of their 
way, and at parting he gave them a knife, 
saying: "If one of you should ever be 
lost, stick this knife in a tree by the road¬ 
side, and then, if the other returns to the 
same point, he can tell how his brother 
fares; for the side upon which there is 
a mark will rust if he dies, but as long 
as he lives it will be as bright as ever.” 

The two brothers now went on till 
they came to a forest so large that they 
[ 197 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

could not get out of it in one day. There 
they passed the night, and ate what they 
had in their pockets. 

The second day they again walked on, 
but found no opening, and having noth¬ 
ing to eat, one said, "We must shoot 
something or we shall die of hunger,” 
and he loaded his gun and looked 
around. 

Just then an old hare came running 
up, at which he aimed, but it cried out: 

"Dear huntsman, pray now let me live, 

And I will two young lev’rets give.” 

So saying, it ran back into the brushwood 
and brought out two hares, which played 
about so prettily that the hunters could 
not make up their minds to kill them. 
So they took the hares with them. 

Presently a fox came up, and as they 
were about to shoot him he cried out: 

1198 1 


THE TWO BROTHERS 


"Dear hunters, pray now let me live, 

And I will two young foxes give.” 

These he brought, and the brothers, in¬ 
stead of killing them, put them with the 
young hares, and all four followed. 

In a little while a wolf came out of the 
brushwood, at which the hunters also 
aimed; but, like the others, he cried out: 

" Dear hunters, pray now let me live ; 

Two young ones, in return, I’ll give.” 

The hunters placed the two wolves with 
the other animals, who still followed 
them. 

Soon they met a bear, who also begged 
for his life, saying: 

"Dear hunters, pray now let me live; 

Two young ones, in return, I’ll give.” 

The two bears were added to the others, 
which made eight animals. 

[ J 99 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

And now who came last ? A lion, shak¬ 
ing his mane. The two brothers were not 
afraid, but aimed at him, and he cried: 

"Dear hunters, pray now let me live; 

Two young ones, in return, I’ll give.” 

The lion then brought his two young ones, 
and now the huntsmen had two lions, 
two bears, two wolves, two foxes, and 
two hares following and waiting upon 
them. But the brothers were hungry, 
having eaten nothing, and they said to 
the foxes, "Get us something to eat, for 
you are both sly and crafty.” 

The foxes replied, "Not far from here 
lies a village where we can get many fowls, 
and we will show you the way there.” So 
they went into the village and got food. 

As they walked on without finding 
any place where they could live together 
they decided to part. The two brothers 
[ 200 ] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 


therefore divided the beasts, each taking 
a lion, a bear, a wolf, a fox, and a hare. 
Then they said good-by, promising to 
love each other till death. The knife 
which their foster father gave them they 
stuck in a tree, so that one side pointed 
to the east and the other to the west. 

The younger brother with his animals 
came to a town which was hung with 
black crape. He went into an inn and 
asked if he could lodge his beasts, and 
the landlord gave him a stable. In the 
wall was a hole through which the hare 
crept and took a cabbage; the fox caught 
himself a hen; but the lion, the bear, and 
the wolf, being too big for the hole, could 
get nothing. 

Their master made the host fetch an 
ox for them, on which they feasted 
merrily, and then, having cared for his 
beasts, he asked the landlord why the 
[ 201 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

town was all hung in mourning. The 
landlord replied that it was because the 
king’s only daughter was to die the next 
day. 

"Is she, then, sick unto death?” in¬ 
quired the huntsman. 

"No,” replied the other, "she is well 
enough; but still she must die.” 

"How is that?” asked the huntsman. 

"Out there before the town,” said the 
landlord, "is a high mountain on which 
lives a dragon, who every year demands 
the sacrifice of a pure maiden. Should 
the king refuse, the monster would lay 
waste all the country. Now all the 
maidens have been given up, until there 
is but one left, the king’s daughter, who 
must die, for there is no other way, and 
tomorrow morning it is to happen.” 

The huntsman asked, "Why does no 
one kill the dragon?” 

[ 202 ] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 

"Ah!” replied the landlord, "many 
knights have tried, but every one has 
lost his life. The king has promised 
his daughter and, after his death, his 
kingdom to anyone who will kill this 
dragon.” 

The huntsman said nothing further 
at that time, but the next morning, tak¬ 
ing with him his beasts, he climbed the 
dragon’s mountain. 

A little way up stood a chapel, and 
upon an altar were three cups. By them 
was written, "Whoever drinks the con¬ 
tents of these cups will be the strongest 
man on earth and may take the sword 
which lies buried beneath the threshold.” 

Without drinking, the huntsman 
sought and found the sword in the 
ground, but he could not move it from 
its place. So he drank out of the cups, 
and then he easily pulled out the sword, 

i [ 203 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

and was so strong that holding it with 
one hand only he waved it about like a 
feather. 

When the hour came at which the 
maiden should be given over to the 
dragon, the king and all his court went 
with her. From a distance they saw the 
huntsman upon the mountain and took 
him for the dragon waiting for them, 
and so dared not ascend; but at last, be¬ 
cause the whole city must otherwise have 
been killed, the princess made the dread¬ 
ful ascent alone. The king and his men 
went home full of grief, but the marshal 
had to stop and watch it all from a 
distance. 

When the king’s daughter reached the 
top of the hill she found the young hunter 
there instead of the dragon. The hunter 
said that he would save her, and led her 
into the chapel and shut her up there. 

1204 ] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 

In a short time the seven-headed 
dragon came up roaring with an awful 
noise, but when he saw the hunter he 
was afraid and asked, "What do you 
here on my mountain?” 

The hunter replied that he came to 
fight him, and the dragon said, breath¬ 
ing out fire from his seven jaws as he 
spoke, "Many a knight has already left 
his life behind him, and you I will soon 
kill as dead as they.” 

The fire from his throat set the grass 
in a blaze, and the smoke would have 
choked the hunter had not his beasts 
come running up and stamped it out. 

The dragon made a dart at the hunter, 
but he swung his sword round so that it 
whistled in the air and cut off three of 
the beast’s heads. The dragon now be¬ 
came furious and raised himself in the 
air, spitting out fire over his enemy, try- 
1 205 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

ing in every way to overthrow him; but 
the hunter, springing on one side, raised 
his sword again and cut off three more 
of the dragon’s heads. 

The beast was half killed with this, 
and sank down; but he tried once more 
to catch the hunter. The hunter beat 
him off and, with his last strength, cut 
off the dragon’s tail. Then, being unable 
to fight longer, he called his beasts, who 
came and tore the dragon to pieces. 

As soon as the battle was over, the 
hunter unlocked the chapel, where he 
found the princess lying on the floor. 
She had fainted with terror while the 
contest was going on. The hunter car¬ 
ried her out, and when she came to her¬ 
self and opened her eyes, he showed her 
the dragon torn to pieces, and said she 
was now safe forever. She rejoiced at 
the sight and said, "Now you will be my 
[ 206 ] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 


husband, for my father has promised me 
to him who should kill the dragon.” 

So saying, she took off her necklace of 
coral and divided it among the beasts 
for a reward, the lion having the gold 
snap for his share. But her handker¬ 
chief, on which her name was marked, 
she presented to the huntsman, who cut 
the tongues from the dragon’s seven 
mouths and, wrapping them in the hand¬ 
kerchief, kept them with great care. 

All this being done, the hunter felt so 
wearied by the battle with the dragon 
and the fire that he said to the princess, 
"Since we are both so tired, let us sleep 
awhile.” They lay down on the ground, 
and the hunter bade the lion watch them. 

Soon they were sound asleep, and the 
lion, who was also weary with fighting, 
said to the bear, "Do you lie down near 
me, for I must sleep a bit; but wake me 
[ 207 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

if anyone conies.” So the bear did as he 
was bidden, but soon getting tired, he 
asked the wolf to watch for him. Before 
long the wolf called the fox, and said: 
"Do watch for me a little while; I want 
to have a nap. You can call me if any¬ 
one comes.” 

The fox lay down beside the wolf, but 
soon felt so tired himself that he called 
the hare and asked him to take his place 
and watch while he slept a little. The 
hare came and, lying down too, soon felt 
very sleepy; but he had no one to call in 
his place, and he soon fell asleep and 
began to snore. Here, then, were sleep¬ 
ing the princess, the huntsman, the lion, 
the bear, the wolf, the fox, and the hare; 
and all were very sound asleep. 

The marshal, who had been set to 
watch below, had not seen the dragon 
fly away with the princess, and all 

[ 208 ] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 


seemed so very quiet that he took heart 
and climbed the mountain. 

There lay the dragon on the ground, 
torn to pieces, and not far off the king’s 
daughter and the huntsman with his 
beasts, all in a deep sleep. 

Now the marshal was very wicked, 
and with his sword he cut off the head 
of the huntsman, and taking the maiden 
under his arm carried her down the 
mountain. At this she awoke in great 
fright, and the marshal cried to her, 
"You are in my hands; you must say 
that it was I who killed the dragon.” 

"That I cannot,” she replied, "for a 
hunter and his animals did it.” 

Then he drew his sword and told her 
he would kill her if she did not obey. 
He then brought her before the king, 
who went almost beside himself with joy 
at again seeing his dear daughter. 

[ 209 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

The marshal told the king that he had 
killed the dragon and freed the princess 
and the whole kingdom, and he must 
have her for a wife, as it had been 
promised. 

The king asked his daughter if it were 
true. 

"Ah, yes,” she replied, "it must be so; 
but the wedding shall not take place for a 
year and a day.” For she thought to her¬ 
self that perhaps in that time she might 
hear some news of her dear huntsman. 

On the dragon’s mountain the animals 
still lay asleep beside their dead master, 
when a great bee came and settled on the 
hare’s nose, but he lifted his paw and 
brushed it off. The bee came a second 
time, but the hare brushed it off again 
and went to sleep. For the third time 
the bee settled, and stung the hare’s nose 
so that he woke. As soon as he had risen 
[ 210 ] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 


and shaken himself he awoke the fox, the 
fox awoke the wolf, the wolf awoke the 
bear, and the bear awoke the lion. 

As soon as the lion got up and saw that 
the maiden was gone and his dear mas¬ 
ter dead, he began to roar fearfully, and 
asked: "Who has done this? Bear, why 
did you not wake me ? ” The bear asked 
the wolf, "Why did you not wake me?” 
the wolf asked the fox, "Why did you 
not wake me?” and the fox asked the 
hare, "Why did you not wake me?” 
The poor hare alone had nothing to an¬ 
swer, and the blame was laid upon him. 
The others would have fallen upon him, 
but he begged for his life, saying: "Do 
not kill me and I will restore our dear 
master to life. I know a hill where grows 
a root that will heal all diseases and 
wounds. But this hill lies two hundred 
hours’ journey from here.” 

[ 211 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

The lion said, "You must go and re¬ 
turn in four and twenty hours, bringing 
the root with you.” 

The hare ran off and in four and 
twenty hours came back with the root in 
his mouth. Now the lion put the hunts¬ 
man’s head again to his body, while the 
hare applied the root to the wound; and 
the huntsman began to revive, his heart 
beat, and life returned. 

The huntsman now awoke, and seeing 
that the maiden was no longer with him, 
he thought to himself, "While I slept, 
perhaps she ran away to get rid of me.” 

In his haste the lion had set his mas¬ 
ter’s head on the wrong way; but the 
hunter, thinking so much about the 
princess, did not find it out till midday, 
when he wanted to eat. Then, when he 
wished to help himself, he found his head 
was turned to his back, and he asked the 
[ 212 ] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 

animals what had happened in his sleep, 
for he remembered nothing. 

The lion told him that from weariness 
they had all gone to sleep, and that on 
awaking they had found him dead, with 
his head cut off; that the hare had 
fetched the life-root, but in his great 
haste he had turned his master’s head 
the wrong way, but that he would make 
it all right again in no time. So saying, 
the lion cut off the huntsman’s head and 
turned it round, while the hare healed 
the wound with the root. 

After this the hunter became very 
dull, and went about from place to place 
letting his animals dance to the people 
for show. 

A year passed, and he came again into 
the same town where he had saved the 
princess from the dragon, and this time 
it was hung all over with scarlet cloth. 

[ 2I 3 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

He asked the landlord of the inn: "What 
means this? A year ago the city was 
hung with black crape, and today it is 
all in red! ” 

The landlord replied, "A year ago our 
king’s daughter was given to the dragon, 
but our marshal fought with it and slew 
it, now they are to be married. Before, 
the town was hung with crape in token 
of grief, but today it is hung with scarlet 
cloth to show our joy.” 

When the wedding was to take place, 
the huntsman said to the landlord, 
" Believe it or not, mine host, but today 
I shall eat bread at the same table with 
the king! ” 

Then, calling the hare, he said, "Go, 
dear jumper, and bring me a bit of bread 
such as the king eats.” 

Now the hare was the smallest, and 
could not trust his business to anyone 
[ 2I 4] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 

else, but was obliged to make himself 
ready to go. "Oh!” thought he, "if I 
jump along the streets alone, the dogs 
will come out after me.” 

While he stood thinking, the dogs came 
behind and were about to seize him for 
a choice morsel, but he made a spring 
(had you but seen it!) and ran into a 
sentry box without the knowledge of the 
soldier. The dogs came and tried to 
hunt him out, but the soldier beat them 
off with a club, so that they ran howling 
and barking away. 

As soon as the hare saw the coast 
clear, he ran up to the castle and into the 
room where the princess was and, getting 
under her stool, began to scratch her foot. 

The princess said impatiently, "Will 
you be quiet ? ” thinking it was her dog. 

Then the hare scratched her foot a 
second time, and she said again, "Will 
[ 2I 5] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

you be quiet?” but the hare would not 
leave off, and a third time he scratched 
her foot; and now she peeped down and 
knew the hare by his necklace. She 
took him up in her arms and carried him 
into her chamber, saying, "Dear hare, 
what do you want?” 

The hare replied, "My master, who 
killed the dragon, is here, and sent me. 
I am come for a piece of bread such as 
the king eats.” 

At these words the princess became 
very glad, and bade her servant bring 
her a piece of bread such as the king 
had. When it was brought, the hare 
said, "The baker must carry it for me, 
or the dogs will seize it.” So the baker 
carried it to the door of the inn, where 
the hare got upon his hind legs, took 
the bread in his forepaws, and carried 
it to his master. 


[ 2i6 1 


THE TWO BROTHERS 

The landlord wondered very much, 
but the huntsman said further, "Yes, I 
have got the king’s bread, and now I 
will have some of his meat.” And call¬ 
ing the fox, he said, "My dear fox, go 
and fetch me some of the meat which 
the king is to eat today.” 

The fox, who was more cunning than 
the hare, went through the lanes and 
alleys, without seeing a dog, straight to 
the royal palace and into the room of 
the princess, under whose stool he 
crept. 

Presently he scratched her foot, and 
the princess, looking down, knew the fox 
by her necklace, so she asked, "What do 
you want, dear fox?” 

The fox replied, "My master, who 
killed the dragon, is here, and sent me 
to beg a piece of meat such as the king 
will eat today.” 


[ 2I 7 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

The princess called the cook and made 
him prepare a dish of meat like the 
king’s, and when it was ready she bade 
him carry it for the fox to the door of 
the inn. There the fox took the dish 
himself, and, first driving the flies away 
with a whisk of his tail, carried it to the 
hunter. 

"See here, master landlord,” said the 
hunter; "here are the bread and meat. 
Now I will have the same fruit as the 
king eats.” 

He called the wolf, and said, "Dear 
wolf, go and fetch me some fruit the 
same as the king eats today.” 

The wolf went straight to the castle, 
like a person who feared nobody, and 
when he came into the princess’s cham¬ 
ber he plucked at her clothes so that she 
looked round. The maiden knew the 
wolf by his necklace, and took him with 
[218] 



I 

































































































































GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

her into her room and said, " Dear wolf, 
what do you want?” 

The beast replied, "My master, who 
killed the dragon, is here, and has sent 
me for some fruit like that the king 
eats today.” 

Then she bade the cook prepare a 
dish of fruit the same as the king’s and 
carry it to the inn door for the wolf, who 
took it of her and bore it in to his master. 

The hunter said, "See here, my host; 
now I have bread, meat, and fruit the 
same as the king’s, but I will also have 
the same sweetmeats.” 

Then he called to the bear, "Dear 
bear, go and fetch me some sweetmeats 
like those the king has for his dinner 
today, for you like sweet things.” 

The bear rolled along up to the castle, 
while everyone got out of his way; but 

when he came to the guard, the guard 

[ 220 ] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 

pointed his gun at him and would not let 
him pass into the royal rooms. The 
bear, however, got up on his hind legs 
and gave the guard a box on the ears 
with his paw, which knocked him down; 
and then he went straight to the room 
of the princess and, getting behind her, 
growled slightly. 

She looked round and saw the bear, 
whom she took into her own chamber 
and asked him what he came for. 

"My master, who slew the dragon, is 
here,” said he, "and has sent me for 
some sweetmeats such as the king eats.” 

The princess called the sugar-baker 
and bade him prepare sweetmeats like 
those the king had and carry them for 
the bear to the inn. There the bear took 
charge of them and, first licking off the 
sugar which had boiled over, took them 
in to his master. 


[ 221 1 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

"See here, friend landlord,” said the 
huntsman; "now I have bread, meat, 
fruit, and sweetmeats from the table of 
the king, but I mean also to drink his 
wine.” 

He called the lion and said, "Dear 
lion, go and fetch me wine like that the 
king drinks. 

The lion strode through the town, 
where all the people made way for him. 
At the castle the watchmen tried to stop 
him at the gates; but he gave a little bit of 
a roar, and they were so frightened that 
they all ran away. He walked on to the 
royal chamber and knocked with his tail 
at the door. When the princess opened it 
she was at first frightened to see a lion; 
but, soon knowing him by the gold snap 
of her necklace which he wore, she took 
him into her room and asked, "Dear 
lion, what do you wish?” 

[ 222 ] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 


The lion replied, "My master, who 
killed the dragon, is here, and has sent 
me for wine like that the king drinks at 
his own table.” 

The princess called the butler and 
told him to give the lion wine such as 
the king drank. But the lion said, "I 
will go down with you and see that I 
have the right kind.” 

When they found the wine he bade 
the butler fill six bottles with it, and the 
lion, taking the basket in his mouth, 
carried it to his master. 

The hunter called the landlord, and 
said, " See here! now I have bread, meat, 
fruit, sweetmeats, and wine, the very same 
as the king will himself eat today, and so 
I will make my dinner with my animals.” 

They sat down and ate, for the hunter 
gave the hare, the fox, the wolf, the 
bear, and the lion their share of the 
[ 223 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

good things, and he was very happy, for 
he felt that the king’s daughter still 
loved him. 

When he had finished his meal he 
said to the landlord, "Now, as I have 
eaten and drunk the same things as the 
king, I will even go to the royal palace 
and marry the princess.” 

The landlord said, "How can that be, 
for she is to marry the marshal today ? ” 

Then the hunter drew out the hand¬ 
kerchief which the king’s daughter had 
given him on the dragon’s mountain, 
and wherein the seven tongues of the 
dragon’s seven heads were wrapped, and 
said, "This shall help me to do it.” 

The landlord looked at the handker¬ 
chief and said, "If I believe all that has 
been done, still I cannot believe that.” 

Meantime the king asked his daugh¬ 
ter, "What do all these wild beasts mean 
[ 22 4 ] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 

who have come to you today and passed 
in and out of my castle?” 

She replied, "I dare not tell you, but 
send and let the master of these beasts 
be brought, and you will do well.” 

The king sent a servant to the inn to 
invite the strange man to come. 

Then said the hunter, "See, mine host, 
the king even sends a servant to invite 
me to come, but I do not go yet.” And 
to the servant he said, "I beg that the 
king will send me royal clothes, and a 
carriage with six horses, and servants to 
wait on me.” 

When the king heard this answer he 
said to his daughter, "What shall I do?” 

"Do as he desires, and you will do 
well,” she replied. 

So the king sent a suit of royal clothes, 
a carriage with six horses, and servants 
to wait upon the man. 

[ 22 5 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

When the hunter saw them coming he 
said to the landlord, "See here, I am 
treated just as I desired to be,” and put¬ 
ting on the royal clothes he took the hand¬ 
kerchief with him and drove to the king. 

When the king saw the hunter coming 
he asked his daughter how he should re¬ 
ceive him, and she said, " Go out to meet 
him, and you will do well.” 

So the king met the hunter and led 
him into the palace, the animals follow¬ 
ing. The king showed him a seat near 
himself and his daughter, and the mar¬ 
shal sat upon the other side. 

Now, against the wall was placed the 
seven-headed dragon, stuffed as if it 
were yet alive; and the king said, "The 
seven heads of that dragon were cut off 
by our marshal.” 

Then the hunter rose up, and open¬ 
ing the seven jaws of the dragon asked 

[ 226 ] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 


where were the seven tongues. This 
frightened the marshal, and he turned 
pale as death, but at last he said, 
"Dragons have no tongues.” 

The hunter replied ,"Liars should have 
none, but the dragon’s tongues are the 
trophies of the dragon-slayer.” So say¬ 
ing, he unwrapped the handkerchief, and 
there lay the seven tongues. He put one 
into each mouth of the monster, and 
they fitted exactly. Then he took the 
handkerchief, upon which the princess’s 
name was marked, and showed it to her 
and asked her to whom she had given it, 
and she replied, "To him who slew the 
dragon.” 

Then he called his beasts, and taking 
from each the necklace, and from the 
lion the golden snap, he put them to¬ 
gether and, showing them also to the 
princess, asked to whom they belonged. 

1 22 71 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

The princess said, "The necklace and 
the snap were mine, and I shared it 
among the animals who helped to con¬ 
quer the dragon.” 

Then the huntsman said: "When I 
was sleeping after the fight the marshal 
came and cut off my head, and then took 
away the princess, and gave out that it 
was he who killed the dragon. I show 
these tongues, this necklace, and this 
handkerchief for proofs that he has 
lied.” 

He told how the beasts had cured him 
with a wonderful root, and that for a 
year he had wandered, and at last had 
come back when he had learned from 
the innkeeper of the marshal’s deceit. 

The king then asked his daughter, " Is 
it true that this man killed the dragon ? ” 

"Yes,” she replied, "it is true; but I 
dared not tell the wicked deeds of the 
[ 228] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 

marshal, because he said if I did he 
would kill me at once.” 

After these words the king called 
twelve wise men to judge the marshal, 
and these agreed that he should be 
banished. 

Then the king gave his daughter to 
the huntsman. 

The wedding was a joyful one, and 
the young king caused his father and 
his foster father to be brought to him 
and loaded them with presents. 

The young king and queen were now 
very happy. The young king often went 
out hunting, and the faithful animals 
always went with him. 

There was a forest close by which was 
said to be haunted, and if one entered 
it he did not easily get out again. The 
young king took a great fancy to hunt 
in it. 


[ 229] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 


One day he rode with a great com¬ 
pany of knights and gentlemen, and as 
he came near the forest he saw a snow- 
white doe going into it; so, telling his 
men to await his return, he rode off 
among the trees, only his faithful beasts 
going with him. 

The men of the court waited and 
waited until evening, but the young king 
did not return; so they rode home and 
told the young queen that her husband 
had ridden into the forest in pursuit of a 
white doe and had not come out again. 
The news made her very anxious about 
him. 

The young king, however, had ridden 
farther and farther into the wood after 
the beautiful animal without catching it. 
When he thought it was within range of 
his gun, with one spring it got away, till 
at last it went quite out of sight, 
t 2 30 ] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 

Then, for the first time, he saw how 
deeply he had plunged into the thicket; 
and taking his horn he blew a blast on it, 
but there was no answer, for his people 
could not hear it. Soon night began to 
close in; and, seeing that he could not 
get home that day, he built a fire and 
made ready to pass the night there. 

While he sat by the fire, with his 
beasts lying near him, he thought he 
heard a human voice, but on looking 
round he could see nobody. Soon after, 
he heard a groan as if from a box and, 
looking up, saw an old woman sitting in 
a tree, who was groaning and crying, 
"Oh, oh, oh, how I do freeze!” 

The young king called out, "Come 
down and warm yourself if you freeze.” 

But the old woman said, "No; your 
beasts will bite me.” 

The young king replied, "They will 
[ 2 3i ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

not harm you, my good lady, if you 
come down. There is nothing to fear.” 

But she was a witch, and said, "I will 
throw you down a twig, with which, if 
you beat upon their backs, they can 
then do me no harm.” 

The young king did as she asked, and 
the animals lay down quietly enough, 
for they were changed into stones. 

Now when the old woman was safe 
from the animals, she sprang down, and 
touching the young king with a twig, 
turned him also into a stone. Then she 
laughed to herself, and buried him and 
his beasts in a grave. 

Meantime the young queen grew more 
and more anxious and sad because her 
husband did not return. 

Just at this time the other brother 
came into her kingdom. He had been 
seeking and had found no service to 
[ 232 ] 




















GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 


enter, and was therefore traveling 
through the country, making his animals 
dance for a living. 

Once he thought he would go and 
look for the knife which they had stuck 
in a tree, in order to see how his brother 
fared. When he looked at it, lo! his 
brother’s side was half rusty and half 
bright, and he thought his brother had 
fallen into some great trouble; but he 
hoped yet to save him, since one half of 
the knife was bright. 

So he went with his beasts toward the 
west; and as he came to the city the 
watch went out to him and asked if he 
should tell the queen that he had come, 
for she had for two days been in great 
sorrow and distress at his absence and 
feared he had been killed in the en¬ 
chanted wood. 

The watchman thought he was none 

[ 2 34 ] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 


other than the young king, he was so 
much like him and had also the same 
wild beasts with him. 

The huntsman saw that the man was 
speaking of his brother, but thought it 
was for the best that he should give 
himself out as his brother, for so, per¬ 
haps, he might more easily save him. 

He went with the watchman into the 
castle, and was received with great joy, 
for the young queen also thought he 
was the king, and asked him where he 
had stayed so long. He said he had 
been lost in a wood and could not find 
his way out any earlier. 

He rested at home a few days, but was 
always asking about the enchanted wood. 
At last he said," I must hunt there again.” 

The king and the young queen begged 
him not to go, but he went with a great 
number of servants, 
i [ 2 35 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

As soon as he got into the wood he 
saw a white hind. He told his people to 
wait where they were while he hunted 
the wild animal, and he rode off, his 
beasts following him. But he could not 
catch the hind any more than his brother 
could; and he went so deep into the 
wood that he had to pass the night there. 

As soon as he had made a fire he 
heard someone groaning, and saying, 
"Oh, oh, oh, how I do freeze! ” 

Then he looked up, and there sat 
the same old witch in the tree, and he 
said to her, "If you freeze, old woman, 
why don’t you come down and warm 
yourself ? ” 

The old woman replied," Because your 
beasts would bite me; but if you will 
beat them with a twig which I will throw 
down to you, they can do me no harm.” 

When the hunter heard this he 
[236] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 

doubted the old woman, and said to 
her, "I do not beat my beasts; so come 
down, or I will fetch you.” 

But the old woman called out: "What 
are you thinking of? You can do noth¬ 
ing to me.” 

The hunter answered, "Come down, 
or I will shoot you.” 

The old woman laughed, and said: 
"Shoot away! I am not afraid of your 
bullets! ” 

The hunter knelt down and shot, but 
the old woman was bullet-proof; and, 
laughing, she called out, "You cannot 
catch me.” 

However, the hunter knew a trick or 
two, and tearing three silver buttons 
from his coat, he loaded his gun with 
them. While he was ramming them 
down, the old witch threw herself from 
the tree with a loud shriek, for she was 
[ 2 37 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

not proof against such shot. The hunter 
placed his foot upon her neck and said, 
"Old witch, if you do not tell me quickly 
where my brother is, I will tie your 
hands together and throw you into the 
fire! ” 

She begged for mercy and said, "He 
is turned into stone and lies in the grave 
with his beasts.” 

Then the hunter forced her to go with 
him, saying: "You old wretch! Now 
turn my brother and all the creatures 
which lie here into their proper forms, 
or I will throw you into the fire! ” 

The old witch took a twig and turned 
the stones back to what they formerly 
were; and there before the huntsman 
stood his brother and the beasts, as well 
as many merchants, workpeople, and 
shepherds, who, delighted with their 
freedom, returned home. But the twin 
[238] 


THE TWO BROTHERS 

brothers, when they saw each other 
again, kissed and embraced and were 
very happy. 

They seized the old witch, bound her, 
and laid her on the fire. When she was 
burned, the forest itself sank into the 
earth, and all was clear and free from 
trees, so that one could see the royal 
palace, only three miles distant. 

Now the two brothers went home to¬ 
gether, and the younger brother said: 
"You see that we both have on royal 
robes, and both have the same beasts 
following us. We will therefore enter 
the city at opposite gates and arrive at 
the same time before the king.” 

Then they parted; and at the same 
moment a watchman from each gate 
came to the king and told him that the 
young king, with the beasts, had returned 
from the hunt. 


[ 239 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

The king said, "It is not possible, for 
your two gates are a mile apart! ” 

But in the meantime the two brothers 
had arrived in the castle yard and began 
to mount the stairs. 

When they entered, the king said to 
his daughter, "Tell me which is your 
husband, for one appears to me the same 
as the other, and I cannot tell.” 

The young queen was in great trouble, 
for she could not tell which was which. At 
last she bethought herself of the necklace 
which she had given to the beasts, and 
she looked and found on one of the lions 
her golden snap, and then she cried, "He 
to whom this lion belongs is my rightful 
husband.” 

Then the young king laughed and 
said, "Yes, that is right.” And they sat 
down together at table, and ate and 
drank and were very merry. 

[240] 


THE OLD MAN AND HIS GRANDSON 


P 11 'JHERE was once an old man whose 
eyes had become very dim, his 
limbs trembled so that he stum¬ 
bled as he walked, and when he sat at 
table his hands shook so that he some¬ 
times spilled his food on the cloth. 

This so vexed the old man’s son and 
daughter-in-law that finally they would 
not have him at the table with the family, 
but obliged him to sit in a corner and 
eat his soup from a bowl. Sometimes 
tears filled his eyes as he looked long- 
[ 2 4i ] 










GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

ingly at the group surrounding the table, 
especially at his little grandson, who ate 
soup with a spoon, while he must drink 
his from a coarse bowl. 

One day the old man was so weak and 
trembling that he dropped the bowl on 
the floor, and it was broken into many 
pieces. The next day he was given a 
wooden bowl, with unkind words about 
his not being fit to be trusted with 
earthenware. 

His little grandson heard all this, but 
said not a word, either to his mother or 
to his grandfather. But the next day 
the little boy was very busy gathering 
bits of board and trying to nail them 
together. 

His father said, "What are you trying 
to make, my son?” and the child an¬ 
swered, "I am making a trough for you 
and mother to eat from when you are old 

[242 ] 





f 


nT i ii 




::■■■ f.' 




^-— 


— 




_ 


——. 




























































































































































GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 


like grandfather and I am as big as you 
are. See what a fine trough it is.” 

The husband and wife looked at each 
other in astonishment, while tears filled 
their eyes, and at the next meal grand¬ 
father and grandson were seated beside 
each other at the family table. Never 
again was the old man rebuked for spill¬ 
ing his broth or dropping his spoon. 


[ 244] 


THE SIX SWANS 



| ^HERE was a king who had seven 
children, six boys and a girl, whom 
he loved above everything else in 
the world. He became afraid that some 
great evil might happen to them, so he 
took them away to a lonely castle which 
stood in the midst of a forest. 

This castle was so hidden that he 
himself could not have found it if a wise 
woman had not given him a ball of 
cotton which unrolled when he threw it 
before him, showing him the right path. 

[ 245 ] 










GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

The king went so often to see his dear 
children that an evil person wished to 
know why he went to the forest. So she 
gave his servants money, and they told 
her the secret, and also told her of the 
ball of cotton which alone could show 
her the way. 

The woman had now no peace until 
she found this ball. Then she made some 
fine silken shirts and sewed within each 
one a charm. One day soon after, when 
the king had gone out hunting, she took 
the little shirts and went into the forest, 
and the cotton showed her the path. 

The children, seeing someone coming 
in the distance, thought it was their dear 
father, and ran out toward her full of 
joy. Then she threw over each of them 
a shirt, which, as it touched their bodies, 
changed them into swans, which flew 
away over the forest. Happily the little 

[246] 


THE SIX SWANS 

girl had remained in the castle, and so 
she was not changed. 

The next day the king went to visit 
his children, but he found only the 
maiden. 

"Where are your brothers? ” asked he. 

"Ah, dear father,” she replied, "they 
have gone away and left me alone.” And 
she told him how she had looked out of 
the window and had seen them changed 
into swans, which had flown over the 
forest; and then she showed him some 
feathers which they had dropped in the 
yard, for she had saved every one. 

The king was much grieved, and feared 
the girl might also be stolen away, so he 
took her with him. 

The poor maiden thought to herself, 
"This is no longer my place; I will go 
and seek my brothers.” And when night 
came she went deep into the wood. 

1 2 47 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

She walked all night and most of the 
next day, until her feet were so sore that 
she could go no further. Just then she 
saw a rude hut. She walked in and 
found a room with six little beds. She 
dared not get into one, but crept under, 
and lying down upon the hard earth 
thought she would pass the night there. 
Just as the sun was setting she heard a 
rustling and saw six white swans come 
flying in at the window. 

The swans settled on the ground and 
began blowing one another until they 
had blown all their feathers off, and their 
swan’s-down dropped off like a shirt. 
Then the maiden knew them at once for 
her brothers, and gladly crept out from 
under the bed, and the brothers were 
not less glad to see their sister. 

"But here you must not stay,” said 
they; "this is a robbers’ hiding-place.” 

[248] 


THE SIX SWANS 


"Can you not protect me, then?” 
asked the sister. 

"No,” they replied; "we can lay aside 
our swan’s feathers for only a quarter of 
an hour each evening. For that time we 
regain our human form, but afterwards 
we are again changed into swans.” 

Their sister then asked them, with 
tears, "Can you not be my brothers 
again ? ” 

"Oh, no,” replied they. "The task is 
too hard. For six long years you must 
neither speak nor laugh, and during that 
time you must sew for us six little shirts 
of star-flowers. Should there fall a single 
word from your lips all your labor will 
be vain.” 

Just as the brothers said this the 
quarter of an hour came to an end, and 
they all flew out of the window again 


as swans. 


[ 2 49 l 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

The little sister made a solemn prom¬ 
ise to herself that she would save her 
brothers, or die in the attempt. So she 
left the cottage and, going deep into the 
forest, passed the night in the branches 
of a tree. The next morning she went 
out and gathered the star-flowers to sew. 

She had no one to talk with, and she 
had no spirits for laughing, so there in 
the tree she sat, intent upon her work. 
After she had passed some time thus, the 
king of that country, who was hunting 
in the forest with his men, came under 
the tree in which the maiden sat. 

They called to her and asked, "Who 
art thou?” But she gave no answer. 
"Come down to us; we will do thee no 
harm.” She simply shook her head, and 
when they pressed her further with ques¬ 
tions she threw down to them her gold 
necklace, hoping they would go away. 

1 2 5 ° ] 


THE SIX SWANS 


But they did not leave her. Then she 
threw down her girdle, but in vain. 

At last one of the hunters climbed the 
tree, brought down the maiden, and took 
her before the king. 

The king asked: "Who art thou? 
What doest thou in that tree?” But 
she did not answer. 

The maiden was so beautiful that the 
king’s heart was touched, and he put his 
cloak around her and, placing her before 
him on his horse, took her to his castle. 
There he had rich clothing made for her. 
Although her beauty shone as the sun¬ 
beams, not a word would she speak. 
The king kept her by his side, and her 
gentle manners so won him that he 
said, "This maiden will I marry, and 
no other.” 

Now the king had wicked subjects 
who spoke evil of the young queen. 
[251 ] 


GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

"Who knows whence she comes?” said 
they. "She who cannot speak is not 
worthy of a king.” Much evil was said 
of her, but the king would not believe it. 
At last her enemies became so many be¬ 
cause she would not tell the secret of her 
sewing in constant silence that even the 
king’s power could not save her from 
harm, and it was decreed that she should 
be put to death. 

When the time came for the queen to 
die, it happened that the very day had 
come when her brothers should be freed. 
The shirts were ready, all but the last, 
which lacked the left sleeve. As she was 
led to the scaffold she placed them upon 
her arm. Just as she mounted it, and 
the fire was about to be kindled, she saw 
six swans come flying through the air. 

Her heart leaped for joy as she saw 
her brothers coming. Soon the swans 
[252] 










































































GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 

alighted so near that she was able to 
throw over them the shirts, which caused 
their feathers to fall off, and the brothers 
stood up alive and well; but the young¬ 
est had a swan’s wing instead of his left 
arm. 

The queen could defend herself now, 
and the people believed her innocent as 
soon as they saw the swans changed into 
six noblemen by the work she had done 
in silence at the risk of her life. 


1 2 54 ] 
























<4 


» 






LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



000245452^5 

o 



























































